My Work
I make work about our relationships with ordinary objects. Often the objects I focus on are unwanted and discarded by others. I use these objects as a way to challenge our understanding of worn out, useless, and obsolete. I am interested in the lives of objects, but also the potential for an unexpected new life.
I often focus on my own struggles to make informed, intentional decisions about the material world. I replace perfectly useful things, I have more than I need. I use myself because I want to understand my own motives, but also because I believe these are issues many others share.
We live in a culture of repetitive and conspicuous consumption with little regard to waste. My work encourages that we refuse this, and instead work to create a culture that values objects and the people they connect us to. Simple choices matter: deciding what we need, how we make use of things, and choosing how and when to let go.
Me
I helped run a gallery & small project space with several friends while living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Over the course of four years the gallery transitioned into a studio, and the friends developed into an artist group. Together as Dynamite Family, we hosted events, made collaborative projects, and toured the country visiting other artist spaces and groups.
I wanted to study art further, so I moved to Illinois, where I attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. While there, I fell in love, converted an old diesel automobile to run on used cooking oil, supported my wife as she gave birth naturally to our first child, and become a member of the local food cooperative.
In September 2010, we moved to Evanston, Illinois. We are still settling in.