Among the Stars, Andromeda Galaxy M31 and Ashes, 40x120"
Among the Stars, Chamaeleon I Icy Molecular Cloud and Ashes, 22x44.5"
Among the Stars, Cosmic Cliffs in Carina Nebula and Ashes, 16x46"
Among the Stars, Stellar Nursery wIthin Large Magellanic Cloud and Ashes, 24x40"
Among the Stars, Triangulum Galaxy and Ashes, 40x70"
Stellar Observations 1
Stellar Observations 2
Stellar Observations 3
Stellar Observations 4
Stellar Observations 5
Stellar Observations 6
Celestial Body I (Untitled 1)
Celestial Body I (Untitled 2)
Celestial Body I (Untitled 3)
Celestial Body I (Untitled 4)
Celestial Body I (Untitled 5)
Celestial Body I (Untitled 6)
Celestial Body II (Untitled 1)
Celestial Body II (Untitled 2)
Celestial Body II (Untitled 3)
Celestial Body II (Untitled 4)
Celestial Body II (Untitled 5)
Celestial Body II (Untitled 6)
Celestial Body III (Untitled 1)
Celestial Body III (Untitled 2)
Celestial Body III (Untitled 3)
Celestial Body III (Untitled 4)
Celestial Body III (Untitled 5)
Celestial Body III (Untitled 6)
Ashes to Dust 1
Ashes to Dust 2
Ashes to Dust 3
Ashes to Dust 4
Ashes to Dust 5
Ashes to Dust 6
Ashes to Dust 7
Ashes to Dust 8
Ashes to Dust 9
Ashes to Dust 10
Ashes to Dust 11
Ashes to Dust 12
AMONG THE STARS (2023)
"…’Not as the world giveth, I give unto you.’ That’s the catch. Did you think, before you were caught, that you needed, say, life?...
You see the creatures die and you know you will die. I think the dying pray at the last not “please” but “thank you” as a guest thanks a host at the door. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn incomprehensible earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, and fleet. There is nothing to be done about it, but ignore it, or see.” -Annie Dillard, A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
ARTIST STATEMENT
My artwork has always dealt directly with the natural world and our relationship to it, indirectly, but an equally important undercurrent is grappling with the universal questions of life and death, grief, and time—with the nature of existence itself.
There are more than 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and nearly 2 trillion galaxies in the universe. In relation, there are more than 50 trillion cells in each human body, and 100 trillion atoms in each human cell. At its core, all existence—we included—are made of stardust. When one considers both this interconnectedness and its incomprehensible sense of scale, we must also ask, “Where did all of this come from; why do we exist within it; and, in the scheme of all existence, what does one life matter?” Though these questions are unanswerable, hints of truths are found throughout nature itself.
My newest exploration includes cyanotypes and both color and black and white digital photographs. The images all incorporate the cremated ash remains of someone I love. Celestial Bodies are unique cyanotype photogram images exposed in the sunlight, and composed by spreading the ashes around family heirloom bowls. The nearly black and white images, entitled Stellar Observations and Ashes to Dust, initially read as starscapes, but are color prints of scanned ashes. Finally, the large-scale color images combine scanned ashes with open-source NASA astronomical images where I scatter and place my loved one’s ashes Among the Stars. Where one starts and the other ends is at once indeterminant and well-defined, and a viewer’s understanding of those bounds shifts with viewing distance. The scale of the large edition is determined by the native NASA file size print resolution.
PROCESS & EDITION INFORMATION:
Among the Stars: Archival Pigment Prints of NASA Astronomical Images with Scanned Cremated Human Remains
Large Edition: 3 Prints
Small Edition (Printed on 17x22” fine art paper): 5 Prints + 2 Artist Proofs
Celestial Bodies (Untitled Original Cyanotypes): 1/1: Unique Cyanotype Photograms from Cremated Human Remains on Watercolor Paper
22” x 30”
Ashes to Dust: Archival Pigment Prints of Scanned Human Cremated Remains
14.5” x 20”
Edition of 5 + 2 Artist Proofs
Stellar Observations: Archival Pigment Prints of Scanned Human Cremated Remains
20” x 16”
Edition of 5 + 2 Artist Proofs