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Artist Statement

Artist Statement

A Prayer for the Earth is an installation which encompasses a vision of nature's beauty, a concern for our threatened environment, and a sense of the natural world's sanctity taught by indigenous peoples around the globe.

Each of the installation's elements expresses a specific way of responding to the living world. The panoramic landscapes, painted with a fantastic realism, are inspired by a feeling for the earth’s inherent energy. The sculptural Tree People focus on humanity's symbiotic relationship with nature. The central mandala combines images of pollution and of indigenous peoples, with four areas depicting earth, water, fire, and air. There are also illuminated altars and assemblages of pre-produced materials and digital images that reveal the complexities of postmodern life.

As a whole, A Prayer for the Earth embodies the wisdom of indigenous peoples which sees all of existence as animated by a common energy and related together as part of one family. The installation reflects the artist's long involvement with those teachings and particularly with ceremony, the spiritual practice of the native peoples of North America. Ceremony immerses the participant in meditating on nature itself and importantly on the cycles of the sun, moon, stars, and planets. The installation is a personal distillation of that experience.

A Prayer for the Earth has emerged from many years of work, and it changes each time that it is installed, responding to the architectural setting, and capable of absorbing new creations. With walls painted strong colors, the work is designed as a complete experience, surrounding the viewer with images and objects. Dividing viewers' attention between a sense of loss and the promise of solace, the work presses us to ask how nature can help relieve the suffering caused by conflict and exploitation.

This work is a statement about the earth, the pollution that is destroying it, the value of international indigenous cultures and prayer in healing the planet. It is a quiet, yet complex place where we can re-member and re-collect our experience in nature.