Forest Grid

Forest Grid, 2025, 9 ft 10 in. x 16 ft. 5 in, 3 x 5 m, organza, embroidery floss, thread, grommets

As big industry in New Brunswick, forestry bears examination.

I recognize the duality in the issue – our economy is dependent upon this industry, just as we are dependent upon forestry products. But also, many of us share concerns regarding spraying, and destruction of natural ecosystems to make space for controlled plantings.

I am not a forestry expert, thus offer no answers, but I think as a society we need to think about what is happening to the land of this region, in which we all have a responsibility to protect. Are we paying attention? Will natural spaces be lost under our watch?

Inspired by Luciana Novo’s plaster hills, Ugo Rodinone’s painted and stacked boulders, and Mondrian’s city grids, this work employs scale to render an imagined, planted forest landscape. Following feminist artists’ use of craft media, beginning with the California Institute of the Arts artists of 1972’s Woman House, the work is embroidered in saturated shades of blues, violets, pinks and greens on a translucent ground, to create a suspended, light-filled grid of ghost-like circular forms undulating in the invisible currents of its environment.

My aim for this work is to inspire attention, contemplation, and discussion regarding our natural spaces and their protection.