This summer I will be working on a research fellowship through Chapman University where I will be creating sculptures that address the environmental issues of costal areas due to the staggering amounts of ocean plastics.
Growing up in San Jose, CA I spent a lot of time at the beaches in Santa Cruz and fishing throughout the Monterey Bay. The ocean has always been a special place for my family and me. With only 4% of the ocean under protection, it’s time to make drastic changes!
On this blog, I will be posting updates on my work as well as the artists whom influence my practices. Other topics that I’ll be covering will be the tremendous challenges with ocean plastics as well as my research trip to the 57th Venice Biennale and Documenta 14 were I will be researching site specific art and the pollution within Venice's canals.
Image: You can break it, lose it, give it away and still have the love and memory of it
I will be creating sculptures that will be welded together using steel rods to create approximate six feet tall structures that echo the lines in the natural coastline of Orange County but will maintain the architectural process of using an industrial material. I will weave items from Orange County beach clean ups and natural products from the ocean side. This process of marrying two opposing materials--the natural woven within the anthropogenic industrial frame-- will highlight our society's impact on the environment due to the juxtaposition of the natural and manmade.
My Spring Semester senior thesis has inspired me move into this new direction. I was given numerous types of materials and objects from family and friends who supported and loved me throughout my life. I then hand wove around ten differing sculpture frames. It became a visualization of my life thus far and my appreciation for my community within it through the laborious act of weaving. Drawing from the process of creating within my thesis project, the work within my fellowship will be taking centralized visualization of the coastlines waste within the OC area. Looking forward to keeping you updated with my progress throughout the next 8 weeks!