Photogenesis

1999

(Permanent site-specific sculpture for North SeaTac Park, King County WA)

Three lamppost trees sprout and stand tall, their filaments like night flowers glow, pulsing at different rates and in multiple colors. The trunks appear to be covered in a rusty bark. This unexpected artistic medium cultivates a non-sequitur, a juxtaposition between icon and material.

Once a virgin forest, later cut with native tribal trade routes, the area developed further when a military roadway provided access to the land for farming. Eventually, residential housing replaced the rural area only to be commuted by the needs of the airport. Ironically, the land is again devoid of houses. Beneath the surface of the earth lies a seed pod for future archaeologists to harvest a field of understanding into 20th century suburban residential living. Out of this soil emerges iconic  representations of the past. These resilient ancestors need not represent a threat. They reflect a source of accidental beauty, a garden of unexpected and partly un-designed delights. A juxtaposition of the mineral and vegetable worlds, this artwork alludes to a potential fusion of nature with technology.