The presence of the skulls, animal and bird, in these cabinet pieces may suggest a Memento Mori with its cautionary message: Remember that you must die. But rather than showing the impermanence of earthly things, these pieces speak to the realities of nature, its cycles, indeed to its essential permanence.
The great blue heron eats the fish and crabs; when it dies, the crabs eat the flesh off its skeleton; the skeleton degrades and becomes part of the sand; sand becomes glass, is worn to smoothness, and washes up on the beach as sea glass. To be scooped up as archaeological treasures.
I have collected bits from the sea since childhood – bones and shells, sticks, stones, and sea glass – my windowsills, studio shelves and dashboard are littered with the souvenirs of wandering in nature. In these boxed works—which incorporate realist panel paintings with found and altered objects—I am making a souvenir in the literal sense of the word: making an act of remembering. By presenting the viewer with both that which is in my mind’s eye and that which is in my pocket I hope to enhance the reality of each.