Whenever we enter the land, sooner or later we pick up the scent of our own histories.
- William Least Heat-Moon
A figure in the landscape... touching earth. I perceive my body. I perceive the earth. And yet my perception of my body is separate from my perception of earth.
How far is my reach?
Absence and presence play a major role within my work. My explorations are based upon a response to an absence or an outside presence within a specific landscape. I have chosen to use the term “outside”, as I am describing something having an affect on the landscape and creating a disturbance that I feel. I am avoiding terminology like “unnatural” to describe the presence because “nature”, as William Cronon has stated in his book Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing Nature ," is not very natural, if by nature we mean that which is untouched by humans; instead, nature is a profoundly human construction. Not only have wilderness areas been significantly affected by humans, but our very notions of nature have shifted through time in response to changing psychological, sociological, and religious beliefs."
The piece is an exploration on the widening
disconnection that the individual has with his or her environment. Ritual
walking was used to physically and mentally tax the body in order to transform
my mental state so as to become more aware of my “place”. Through ritual, I am
trying to deconstruct the psychological conception that there is a boundary
that separates us from our environment. This piece is effort to reconnect with
my environment in order so that I can better understand the interconnected
nature of my relationship with the “natural” world. I am putting quotes around
“nature”, as the term is part of the social construct that I the piece seeks to
dispel.
WATCH VIDEO: Use the link connected to this page or
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbX5K2IBOn0
I would like the express my sincere gratitude to Gina Carroll, Cory Ploessl, and Jyl Kelley. I could not have created this piece without their help. My thanks.
