Environmental Saturation
Exhibit at Oglethorpe University, Nov. 30th 2024
Environmental Saturation evokes themes of civic decomposition and reclamation of nature. These paintings combine classically rendered, familiar urban spaces with natural invasions superimposed into and onto the space.
Inspired by the bas relief works of rural Appalachian artist Lowell Hayes, these pieces invite the viewer to examine their own relationship with the natural. We are stewards of the Earth and a part of nature ourselves. How do we strike a balance in our chosen environments between urbanism and nature, rather than facilitate a complete consumption of space by one or the other? In an ever industrialized world, living on a dying planet, we can no longer afford to ignore a future where all that humanity has made is left to be retaken by the Earth.
A glycerin based natural preservation process allows the 3D leaves and branches to persist as artwork without decaying, emphasizing the inevitability and endurance of nature in the face of fleeting and ephemeral human creation.
The Apartment
This building is based on an apartment complex in the Atlanta area, although I have forgotten which one. The roses remind me of a rosebush which grew up into the boughs of a tree at my grandparents house. I had to avoid walking under it with bare feet when I was little.
The Kitchen
The kitchen this painting is based on looks almost identical to the kitchen of my first college apartment, despite being in a completely different building in a different part of the city. The note on the fridge reads "remember to water the plants".
The Living Room
The photo of this living room came from a zillow listing for a house in the affluent neighborhood near my apartment. The tree is a composite of 8 different kinds of wood. The buttercups are inspired by a memory of my little sister laying in a huge field of the flowers in my grandparent's backyard.
While one of the works I had hoped to show at this event was unfortunately lost only a few days before, the chance to share an in-progress work at the exhibition allowed for the amazing opportunity to include my friends and family in the creative process. Additionally, it allowed me to demonstrate the way I put together the other three pieces, and answer questions both practically and theoretically.