One World
2020, 8’ x 11.25’, Hand Cut Maps on Vellum
(Created while I was Higgins Gallery Artist in Residence, Oct/Nov 2020)
The most exciting part of my residency at the Higgins Art Gallery at Cape Cod Community College was the opportunity to create a really large piece of art; something much bigger than I could make in my studio.
I am interested in how in life roads connect us and borders divide us; but on a map both roads and borders are represented by lines and at first glance it may not be clear which is which. Having prepared an 8ft x 11.25ft vellum sheet and cut hundreds and hundreds of roads, rivers, railroad tracks, and borders from dozens and dozens of maps, I glued them in one continuous line that covers the expanse of the sheet. As I worked on the piece I noticed that I began to let go of controlling exactly where the roads/borders went, and I started to trust the line to find it's own direction.
The wide variety of colors and styles that make up this continuous road speak to me of the the diversity of humanity and human relationships, representing a connection between people, rather than a dividing line that keeps us at a distance from each other.
