Biography
I’m taken by the beauty of the natural world and compelled by our dependence on it. My work explores disruptive and adaptive coloration found in the animal kingdom. Fascinated by the shapes and elaborate patterns of adaptive coloration, I’ve been creating abstractions based on markings found on insects, fish and amphibians. My current series focuses on pollinators, specifically Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).
In 2016 the United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), released the first-ever global assessment of pollinators. It highlighted their importance for worldwide food and nutrition, described the threats they currently face and outlined protection strategies. I believe that understanding the dynamism and fragility of the natural world and grasping both our dependence upon it and our inextricable place within it is imperative.
Although these concerns are important and drive my own visual exploration, my artwork is not pedantic or intended as illustration. Rather, it’s easily approachable. I’m creating work that is beautiful, engaging and open to interpretation. My work appeals to people’s inherent biophilia, our innate tendency to seek connection with nature and to find value in it.
Employing images from macrophotography and a vibrant palette to capture subtle color variations, I’m creating abstraction sourced from nature. By acutely focusing on my subjects and delving into their visual complexity, I engage the viewer and entice them to look more closely, more intimately, and question what they see. I celebrate the natural world and invite people to appreciate it.
