ARTIST STATEMENT

In 2007, a blue whale washed ashore after being killed by a ship off the coast of California.  Scientists dissected the whale, and after careful analysis of a nearly foot-long cylinder of earwax extracted from its skull, compiled a detailed history of the whales life based on layers of toxins and chemical residues preserved in the waxy plug.  Much like growth rings on a tree, the blue whale’s earwax is a good metaphor for my practice.  There is tangible evidence of past encounters archived somewhere in the life of a thing, and that is what I seek out.  I am drawn to universal human activities, but even the most familiar movement varies from culture to culture.