Instance of Resistance

Instance of Resistance #10: Feral greenery in the underground city
digital photos on fabric over-stitched onto canvas
2008
3' x 4'

detail below:


When I lived in Knoxville, TN, I took these photos in the underground city outside my studio on Gay Street. Here is an article by Jack Neely explaining a bit of the history of the city below the city

This work is part of a series I call Instances of Resistance where I search out and photograph feral plant life growing among human construction / ruins.

Instances of Resistance

Instance graffiti #4: 11 feral plants, 8 twigs and 1 cross-beam in brick ruin
digital print and pencil
2008
8" x 10"

Instance graffiti #1: 12 feral plants among others in brick ruin
digital print and pencil
2008
8" x 10"

These are from a series of the digital photos of feral plant life that I printed onto Bristol Board then drew over with a soft-lead pencil.

I chose drawing as the medium because I wanted to put my own hand into the photos and make a connection between the role of subjectivity in my art practice and the un-tameable, rogue plant-life. I also thought that drawing would be the best way to animate the plants with playful and caricature-like personas.

I enjoy how these pieces invoke nostalgia (a theme in my work) with their simultaneously shadowy presence and candy-like preciousness.