My work tackles the relationship that we humans have with our natural and synthetic environments. From a biological standpoint, we are truly odd creatures. We shape our surroundings and the species that we come in contact with at an alarming rate and in an unmatched scale. All too often, the unintended consequences of past actions return to affect our present and future livelihood.
In coming to Japan I decided to concentrate on the relationship back and forth between plants and humans. I settled upon the case study of rice as an ideal example of a species in coevolution with humans. Just as we have changed greatly from our hunter-gatherer past, so too has rice mutated from a wild grass into the most important and abundant food staple on earth.
All of the pieces in this show addressed on some level from the microscopic to the panoramic my ever-changing position in the dynamic and fluid systems that I inhabit. By extracting and examining a few details of this system, I hoped to gain a greater knowledge of the system as a whole and my role in perpetuating and preserving a delicate balance.
With sincerest gratitude to the faculty, staff and students of Toyama Institute of Glass Art for their amazing hospitality and countless hours of help. Most of all, a very special thanks to Erika Tada, my tireless and dedicated assistant.
