Archipelagos
“It is not down to any map; true places never are.”
~ Ishmael in Moby-Dick, Herman Melville
In Progress . . . more to come.
Archipelagos is a series of abstract collage works on wood, evoking natural geologic forms, man-made borders, and the passage of time. The works unfold like unmoored dreamscapes in search of a true north—inner mappings of the human condition. They quietly navigate themes of uncertainty, change, and resilience, inspired by the literary works of Donne, Saramago, and Melville: each exploring islands, solitude, and the pull toward something vast and unknown.
Created using salvaged parchment paper from my child’s baking adventures, these domestic fragments—shaped by time, heat, and heart—serve as quiet metaphors for transformation. I’m drawn to the mystery of the unknown: places where wonder, fear, and comfort live together in a kind of delicate tension. Individually, the careful arrangement of these odd-shaped, browned paper pieces reflects a longing for connection and belonging. Together, the series suggests a constellation within a more expansive, cosmic map.
My process is intuitive and unfolds over long stretches of time—sometimes weeks, sometimes years. I gather materials and sit with them, considering their inherent qualities and implied meanings. In the act of making, the materials and I engage in a playful dialogue of give-and-take, shaping each composition as I move through memory, loss, resistance, and the creative instinct to reconnect with a sense of place.
