Observing and participating in the natural cycles of the Earth has long been a part of my artistic practice. Paying close attention to changing seasons and natural systems helps me pause and reflect as humans shape and shift the Earth now more than ever. Studying how light moves through urban landscapes is a subtle reminder that I’m part of nature and not separate from it. Choosing to incorporate hiking and collecting into my practice is what feeds my adventuresome spirit and gives me new insights.

During a three-year survey of the Midwest, I photographed plastic bags marring the landscape and saw it as an opportunity for transformation. Removing the plastic from trees and bushes after photographing it allows me to sit with the pain of the Earth and make concessions with my soul. These quiet moments between one time and space and the next, help me understand how and why we’re living in the Anthropocene – the time of humans. Recognizing that nuclear testing, mass extinction and plastic pollution is what got us here, reminds me of what it means to be vulnerable. Holding these frustrations as our link and connection to each other is what gives me hope. Choosing to see the world through this lens is what fuels my photographic work.