I grew up on the California coast and my experiences tidepooling, visiting the aquarium and the beach, serve as vivid inspiration for my artistic exploration. My work explores the contrast between above and below the water, examining movement, size and space within the marine environment. The ocean is at threat from climate change: instead of focusing on despair I want to focus on the vibrancy of life underwater.

Utilizing printmaking, watercolor and cyanotypes, I sought  to create dynamic and immersive experiences from traditionally still and immobile artforms. The cyanotype backdrop invokes the vast diversity of kelp and seaweed, with the hanging kelp and fish adding a layer in the foreground that invites you to engage. The forms on the floor evoke tidepools, inviting close inspection into a smaller, but just as colorfully diverse, ecosystem. Drawing inspiration from the immense scale of the ocean as well as the intricate ecosystems of the tidepools, I want to create a sense of rapture and awe. The contrast between motion and stillness is essential in this piece: the ocean is never truly still. The kelp and the fish sway in the air, mimicking the movement of the waves, creating a vivid atmosphere that stands in contrast with the still cyanotypes.

I wanted to appreciate and notice the incredible amount of biodiversity in the ocean and strive to explore the relationship of biodiversity in a reproduced and reimagined context. I am fascinated by life beneath the waves and invite you to dive deeper and explore, to walk through this installation and look around and down at the floor. 

Go be a fish!