Water and air are essential to life. Clean water and air, as well as the systems that deliver them, are undeniable necessities and conveniences within our lives. Conceptually, my work focuses on water and air distribution systems (both real and imaginary) and the ingenuity and dedication needed to design and maintain them.

By combining seemingly contradictory and disparate materials, such as fired ceramics, air filters, found industrial objects and steel pipes, I present a whimsical and often simplified representation of these systems.

Using the visual language that is created through this process, I encourage viewers to embrace the glory of mechanization and contemplate the expressive human qualities of efficiency, agency and ingenuity that are captured in mechanical systems.

These pieces are from a body of new work called Dinosaurs, Small Monuments to Big Machines that explores society’s relationship with heavy machinery. Society often refers to old machines – both functioning and defunct – as “dinosaurs”. Within this work I explore that phrase as both literal and abstract idea.

Dinosaurs, Small Monuments to Big Machines brings a whimsical approach to the exploration of ridged geometry by exploring colorful, playful and spatially interactive forms that engage surrounding architecture, spaces and the people who inhabit them.

These works investigate a new and lighthearted way to contemplate heavy machinery. Through titles of the works and inclusion of the authentic colors that correspond to industrial manufacturers, I associate these abstracted welded objects with their heavy machinery counterparts, paying tribute to their usefulness in our contemporary society.