In my paintings and related sculptures I depict a post-industrial world. I synthesize two opposing hypotheses to create scenes that speak of the struggle and mystery of the human relationship to the rest of the natural world. One side of me is optimistic, and believes that with a clean slate and cautious determination we could avoid further ecological disaster. This is tempered by another view that fears that human greed and conflict are unavoidable.

I am using a highly personalized theory of bioregionalism— the idea that sustainability can be realized by redrafting society around the health of natural systems— to create the rules for which this world might exist. This is different than the sort of green cosmopolitanism exemplified in slicker, ‘cleaner,’ new technological devices. In my version, restoration would take a radical and thorough annihilation of industrial society. My works portray a harsh place, where the mistakes of the recent past loom like a death sentence over every decision that people make.

This project is a way of cross-examining my own ideals. Through the lens of my fears—violence, nationalism, and a vast uncertainty— I can debate the plausibility of my passions. Each painting is based on a specific ‘ecoregion,’ an area of land defined not by a nation state but by ecology, with its own place on the spectrum of human impact. These factors help me add a richly imagined specificity to my dream world. I am thus forced to reckon with both the triumphs and pitfalls of the bright and cloudy future.