I'm here at the site of my new installation
which is called "convergence."
"convergence" is a work about humanity and oneness and how we're all connected
and all part of the same thing.
The work consists of three graves that
I've dug into the ground here and they represent
the graves of all humanity: mothers, fathers,
and children. In the end we all return to
the earth and we're all the same and that's
what I'm trying to illustrate with this piece.
This work explores new territory for me in
terms of how it's made. I actually used a
tractor to excavate the graves themselves
but even beyond that the location here is
into the woods. It was buried deep behind
a lot of brush, fallen trees, and I had to
clear the way to get in here with the tractor.
That was a lot of fun in and of itself and
it was a lot of fun to think of using those
kind of tools as art tools. That's exactly
what they are to me. I really enjoyed engaging
with the land in a way I've never done before
in my practice. Last year I did "the woods
are watching" installation which is here not
too far away from the same site and that was
the first step in engaging with nature and
engaging with the land. I feel like "convergence"
is moving into the next phase of things.
The title of the work, "convergence," is inspired
by Flannery O'Connor's short story collection
"Everything That Rises Must Converge." But
visually the work is inspired by an old family
cemetery that I visited several years back
when it was being excavated to be moved so
that a highway could be built. When I visited
those shallow excavations after they had moved
the graves, what was left in the ground and
how it appeared was so visually striking to me.
And that's sort of the point of reference
that I'm working with here.
The work itself is also site-specific. I've
created it here in the bed of an old man-made
pond which was created by my grandfather in
the 1950's. But the really interesting thing
about this pond is that it actually never
held water, it didn't work.
But when there are several days of heavy rain it does flood
and fills up with water
and, again, will drain again.
When this was clear in the bottom he would
actually plant either hay or corn in the bottom
of it. He would get crops on it if it didn't
fill up with water and kill them.
So I've created the graves here and I've placed
solar orbs in each grave.
They charge up through the sun every day and at night they illuminate a variety of colors.
It's really quite beautiful.
And the orbs actually float... so the idea
is when the rain comes and the pond fills up,
the orbs will float away from the graves,
symbolizing the souls of all humanity
and the convergence as they rise.
So I'm really excited. I can't wait to see
how this work evolves and how everything converges.
