Healing Waterways is one of a series of bodies of work that were conceptualized as a response to documentaries and news clips I watched that dealt with consumption and the environmental impact our actions have on the planet.

 

Soon after taking office in 2017, Donald Trump vowed to repeal Barack Obama’s environmental protections covered under the “Waters of the United States” regulation.  This action brought back the memory of an 1855 letter I had read in the past where Native American Chief Seattle of the Duwamish Tribe eloquently wrote to Franklin Pierce stating that “The sparkling water that runs in the rivers and streams is not only water; it is the blood of our ancestors.” 

 

Using this as a conceptual framework, I started looking at the magnificent splendor depicted in satellite photographs of river deltas and curiously began juxtaposing them with microscopic images of human viruses as a means to make a statement about the detrimental consequences human actions have on the systems that support our existence. 

 

However, as destructive as our actions may be, I have to believe that nature has the ability to regenerate itself and cleanse the transgressions that have brought us to reflect upon the demise that lingers if something is not swiftly corrected. With this in mind, and as a personal healing gesture, a third layer of images of plant cells was added to each of the compositions to create colorful abstractions that speak of the beauty of nature rather than the destructive traits I wish were somehow erased.