CV

Instagram: @ratsarenotgross

Bio:

I am a conceptual artist and a scientist. These disciplines are inextricable for me. My work is driven by a desire to understand the underpinnings of human behavior. I am curious about the ways culture is produced, reified, and how beliefs, values, and how ideas move through and shape a society. With my visual and scientific work, I explore how we create, share, and solidify meaning, and invite others to reflect on the richness of the environments we inhabit and the social worlds we construct.

This commitment to understanding complexity and connection is rooted in my early experiences. I was born in Hawaii, raised in New Mexico, and spent the summers of my youth in Vermont with my grandparents. Moving among these diverse landscapes and communities instilled in me a deep appreciation for the diversity of life and the delicate balance required to sustain an ecosystem. At the same time, growing up in a multiracial family shaped how I navigate cultural identity and difference, adding another dimension to my understanding of diversity.

Together, these experiences of place, family, and disciplinary intersection continue to shape my creative and intellectual practice. I am drawn to the interdependence of people, animals, plants, and landscapes, and I aim to illuminate the connections between them through both scientific inquiry and conceptual art.

I have a BFA in studio art, and a PhD in anthropology. I have shown my work in galleries across the United States.

Statement:

As humans, we have an unparalleled ability to shape and control our physical environment. We allow plants and animals into our lives but only in limited, controlled ways. We surround ourselves with manicured landscapes and domesticated pets, while we destroy fragile ecosystems and drive untold numbers of species to extinction. When we benefit from the natural world, we embrace it; when it encroaches on our comfort, we destroy it. Through photography, sculpture, and print, my work captures the exploitation and concomitant destruction of the natural world and uses it as a metaphor for our treatment of one another.

Shop Info:

Please send me a message for information on buying my primary artwork (i.e., the images you see on this website).

For small works, greeting cards, stickers, pins, etc., please visit my Etsy shop. For wholesale orders, please visit my Faire shop.