The environment where I grew up in South Miami, Florida left an impact on me as a child, surrounded by towering philodendrons, birds of paradise, banana plants, and luscious overgrowth.
As I grew older and eventually moved to the Midwest, my memories of the environment became graphic in the way that images become graphic. Tropical foliage that I once clearly remembered began to lose facets of detail and simplify to a language of simple outlines.
Eventually my memories of home became an abstract sensation rather than a concrete image–tropicalia.
Tropic V
10mm neon, steel | 60" x 60" x 84" | 2017
10mm neon, steel | 60" x 60" x 84" | 2017
Tropic VI
Digital print| 6.5" x 11" | 2017
Digital print| 6.5" x 11" | 2017
Tropic IV (hojas)
Cut paper| 90" x 160" x 4"| 2017
Cut paper| 90" x 160" x 4"| 2017
Tropic II (transplant)
8mm neon | 40" x 40" x 3" | 2017
8mm neon | 40" x 40" x 3" | 2017
Tropicalia
8mm and 10mm neon | 30" x 20" x 3"| 2017
8mm and 10mm neon | 30" x 20" x 3"| 2017
Tropic III
8mm neon and cut paper | 36" x 36" x 4"| 2017
8mm neon and cut paper | 36" x 36" x 4"| 2017
Ghillie Suit
Cut tyvek paper, cotton mesh | 20" x 70" x 12" | 2021
Cut tyvek paper, cotton mesh | 20" x 70" x 12" | 2021