When is hierarchy necessary?This body of work interrogates the cultural positioning of Mother Nature, tracing the tension between reverence and dominion. I found myself conflicted, trying to find a bridge between the interdependent understandings of humans and nature within Buddhist philosophies and the stewardship model of Christian theology.
This installation emerges from years of dialogue with religious and cultural leaders about man-nature relationships, including Pacific Island elders, Zen Buddhist monks, Japanese beekeepers, Spanish Trappist monks, pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago, American climate scientists, international climate diplomats, youth climate activists at the UN, and environmental lawyers.
Babel, 2025. Exhibited at the United Nations as part of a Talanoa-style diplomatic dialogue at COP30. Delegates shared in remembrance of histories of suffering due to environmental injustice. The painting served as a visual parable of sacrifice, leading into a discussion of how international law could work in tandem with art to protect and culturally defend the human dignity of climate-displaced refugees. I co-organize the dialogue, which was led by the Yale Student Environmental Coalition Delegation in collaboration with the Duke University Delegation.
Purple Martin, 2025. Exhibited at the Connecticut Audubon Society as a part of a larger discussion on natural cycles of life and death relating to species extinction. This piece accompanied a nature philosophy immersive art discussion hosted in collaboration with the Table and Gallery. The Purple Martin was acquired by a collector through an on-site auction that benefited conservation efforts at the Connecticut Audubon Society.
Nature's Three Body Problem, 2024. I spent time with a Zen monk, a yogini, and a beekeeper in the mountainsides of Japan, listening to the histories of how natural disaster, war, and Western influence challenged the cultural preservation of traditional philosophies about human-nature. This painting considers the effects of globalization following World War II and contends with the philosophy of interdependence in a world of competing interests.
Cycles, 2026. I walked 400km along a religious pilgrimage, asking clergy and lay people about their relationship to death. This painting contends with the cyclical, oscillating, nature of life. Cycles is a part of a exhibition and workshop with the Deering Estate Museum in Miami, in which I teach community members how to build bee houses with as an embodied exploration of species interdependence and the influence of pollinators in life-death cycles.
Reflection, 2025
Nature's Pedestal, 2024
Feathers in Flame, 2024
Nature's Keeper, 2024