St. Edward's Installation 2022

My intention behind this installation is to highlight climate change and ecosystem degradation. The spaces between each “branch” or “tree trunk” indicate that something is missing or these “trees” are broken. This final piece has upwards of 30 pieces to complete the installation. Because of the orientation, its difficult to view the piece from far away, but close up the detail can be appreciated. In my proposal, I was striving toward creating an installation that showed lack of life in one way or another. I thought that my pieces of “life” and “lack of life” would be intertwined. When assembling my installation on the wall, I liked it more when the “lack of life” pieces are toward the edges. To me, it tells a story of a forest who has strong roots, but is dying as it continues to grow. This forest is not all the way gone, but something must be done quickly in order to save it.
When the audience looks at the installation, I want them to think of a natural landscape in Texas, where trees are no longer flourishing like they used to be. I want their eyes to be constantly moving and to be reminded of the intricacies of the natural world which are often overlooked. The mood that I want my piece to possess is encouraging, yet real, and the reality is that the climate is changing. I want people to be inspired to change their actions and behaviors toward the natural world around us so that we can benefit from its beauty and life for a long time. I am hopeful for this installation to remind people of the patterns of life that surround us, especially in trees, and how self-sustaining, slow and beautiful they are. Climate change is affecting all of us and we must change our actions soon to save the planet, but maybe that can even start with appreciation for the natural world.