Wish Tree (The Sacred Space Between the No Longer and Non Yet), 2019
Approx. 5000 collected materials in recycled plastic bags and string
Dimensions variable
XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE
The work explores the ancient practice of the Wish Tree. This ritual has been explored by many cultures and in many forms where a tree is selected which serves as a wishing well from the coming-from-ness of healing, seeking, and/or communicating with the universe.
On the Road (for Jack Kerouac), 2013
Collected spices and herbs in plastic bags
288 feet x 6 ¾ inches (89 meters x 17cm)
The Royal Stables, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The work is a conversation with Jack Kerouac and his novel On the Road, and with the philosophy and energy of the Beat Generation. The scroll like form in the field of green represents Kerouac’s process of working on the scroll, but I am also consciously bridging into the narrative the philosophy inherent with that period of Zen Buddhism, the practice of consciously living in the now, while walking through the journey of life.
Haft-Sin Zazen, 2010
Gold and silver thread and salt on linen
6 1/2 ft. x 13 ft. (200 cm x 401 cm)
Ghaf Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE
This project exists on many levels and is linked to my present locale and environment in Abu Dhabi and the desert landscape, as well as a Haft-sin (a symbolic table setting during the Persian New Year). While in Egypt in 2004, while driving from Cairo to Alexandria, I first experienced this moment and was struck by these endless mounts of sand surrounding the desert road. Through the process of searching and seeking to represent through form this moment I experienced, the work eventually formalized. Salt is a material that derives from the ocean, of which we are surrounded by, but also holds a personal meaning as it is believed in many cultures to be a metaphysical organic material that carries away negative energy, and a material that allows for wishing well and cleansing. The mounts are placed on a kandora fabric, and this visual perception of white on white provides a feeling of repose.
Rhali, 2005
Collected petals and leaves in plastic bags
11 ft. x 8 ft. (335 cm x 243 cm)
Dashur, Egypt
This project was conceptualized while I was living in Cairo, surrounded by vast deserts. The site-specific significance of the Dashur Pyramid conveyed for me a sense of belonging and familiarity. The palette follows the colors found in the chakras, with the project formally assembled from dried flowers and leaves that I had been collecting since my arrival in Egypt.
Stairway, 2005
Collected stems and fishing line
17 ft. x approx. 1-26 inches (518 cm x 2.5-6.6 cm)
Dashur, Egypt
The work is site-specific and most importantly to the first Sphinx, of which can be seen from a distance. This work carries a conversation of passage, from this world to the next, perhaps from earth to the heavens. The materials are stems from the flowers that I had collected during my time in Cairo.
Tree of Life, 2003
594 glass jars filled with stems, dried and pulverized petals, leaves and metal wire on tree
67 inches x 17 inches (170 cm x 43 cm)
Pratt Institute Sculpture Park, Brooklyn, NY
The organic materials in their glass jars hold a subjective personal memory. This project is inspired by native man’s relationship to the natural environment, while also to Ana Mendieta and her synergy with nature.
Stratosphere, 2002-2004
Approx. 11,000 collected bottles on floor
10 ft. x 6 ft. (304 cm x 182 cm)
I began collecting bottles when Mayor Bloomberg had stopped the glass recycling program in NYC. With them, I assembled a visual urban landscape with bottles that originated from distant lands and narratives.