In a world where departure often seems the only rational response, Natural Becoming, poses a radical question: what happens when we choose to remain and bear witness? This exhibition confronts our emotional paralysis by transforming overwhelming climate data into scenes of unexpected aliveness.
The paintings depict crumbling infrastructure reflected in flooded water and familiar Pacific Northwest flora and fauna rendered strange in harsh landscapes, creating scenes of magical realism where tender life and violence coexist. The work is established through layered processes that enact what they depict. Surfaces are built using masking and revelation, concealing forms before excavating them through reductive scratching that simulates erosion. Beneath oil paint layers, neon acrylic underpaintings generate visual vibrations—color fields pulsing with anxious energy, suggesting beauty perpetually on the verge of collapse.
These paintings offer the perspective that existing in harsh conditions is an act of rebellion and protest. Natural Becoming is not merely documentation of loss, but a vibrant testament to persistence.