In the Valley of the Shadows

We live in a world where beauty, comfort, safety, and abundance have increasingly been peeled back to reveal dangers of unprecedented proportions. In my works, I seek to expose the menace hidden behind the gleaming exteriors and bring it to the surface so that the fear of unexpected peril can be confronted and resolved. In this series of sculptures, I use glass and resin - the materials that are commonly perceived as perfect surfaces, smooth and beautiful. I then apply physical and chemical processes to transform them so they begin to manifest dangerous and unexpected elements. I immerse glass in flames of varying intensities to activate metals embedded in it and change its color from clear to blood-red. I then use heat to liquefy the glass and create sharp points, uncovering dangerous aggression behind its fragile beauty. I inject dye into resin during different stages of its curing process to reveal that plastic is not just a playful, docile material. It can trap and embalm. In the sculptures, I manifest the unpleasant and place it side by side with the beautiful. By doing so, I acknowledge that binary opposites exist within each person, place, and event. Once the danger is no longer hidden, it can be accepted and its ability to frighten and intimidate can be stripped away.