Listening Series
“We need . . . to devise new regimes of perception that enable us to consult nonhumans more closely, or to listen and respond more carefully to their outbreaks, objections, testimonies, and propositions. For these offerings are profoundly important to the health of the political ecologies to which we belong.”
--Jane Bennett, Vibrant Matter: A political ecology of things
“It is possible that Time, the essential element, matrix and measure of all known animal art, does not enter into vegetable art at all. The plants may use the meter of eternity.”
--Ursula LeGuinn, The Author of the Acacia Seeds. . .
The works in this series respond to the question, “What would deep listening look like?” I developed these pieces over time and in collaboration with the landscape in Point Reyes, CA and in Yosemite National Park. The marks and patterns are made entirely by the plants, animals and weather moving through specific intervals of time. After harvesting these marks, I have attempted to curate what I hear.
The Tree Listening pieces were made by wrapping two trees in Point Reyes with one piece of canvas for 2 years.
The Upland Listening Series consists of drawings created by leaving blank pieces of paper at two specific locations (a patch of poison oak, and a bush frequented by quail) near the Giacomini Wetlands for 30- day intervals over the course of one year.
The Rain Listening pieces were made during an artist residency in Yosemite National Park. The marks were made by rain hitting a small cup of ink and splashing onto a piece of Fabriano paper. Each drawing was made by rain for a duration of 30 seconds.