2012
This installation at the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans, is inspired by my response to the contradictory nature of the landscape in southern Louisiana. The beauty of nature, including drawings of live oaks and other trees, is juxtaposed with dreary industrial forms that damage yet fulfill a necessary service to the region. Physical elements are fabricated from local material such as salvaged and recycled pine and cypress. By using negative shapes of nature I'm drawing attention the liminal place they have in this context. The contrast of opposites is reinforced through juxtapositions: positive/negative, presence/absence, past/present, two-dimensional/three-dimensional, grounded/floating. I have also inserted small elliptical drawings created by my wife, who referenced sketches by my grandfather, mounted onto the walls. My grandfather was an architect and naturalist, who worked in Georgia and Tennessee. Since I am from Ohio, having both northern and southern roots in my family,this is my way of showing connections between the two.
Photo Credit: Sara Essex Bradley
