Title: The Hum

Alternative Titles: Where the Grass Once Grew, Forgotten Fields, Under a Changing Sky

Dimensions: 10’ H x 20’ W x 20’ D (dims variable by space)

Materials: Two primary artworks (Longleaf and Firebreak), burnt 2x4 lumber and framing elements, a large section of chain-link fencing resembling a screen door, a suspended ball-peen hammer, a brick and branches, and a mirrored reflecting pool in a separate room. If space permits, several small paintings of fields (created with foraged wild clays, ash, and oils) will be included to contrast the desert-like installation.

Audio: A subtle and persistent lawnmower sound, like a background hum, permeates the space occupied by the installation. It won’t be overwhelming or distracting but rather a constant presence that creates a sense of unease. The steady hum of a lawnmower is a psychological marker of suburban routine—a sound that can be both soothing and oppressive, replacing natural silence with the monotony of maintenance. It becomes a presence in the space, acting as both a memory trigger and an inescapable force.

Narrative: The installation presents the 'aesthetics of ruin' through the imagery of a crumbling homestead, and a collection of fragmented and disordered memories like the scattered remnants of a forgotten life.

Core Concepts: The Hum is an immersive installation that deconstructs the pastoral ideal, using the quintessentially American sound of a lawnmower—a "pharmakon" (something that acts as both a remedy and a poison, in this case a sound that soothes and oppresses)—to confront the "specter of progress" (the haunting presence of modernization's hidden costs) and the anxieties of a "post-natural" reality (where the line between organic and synthetic is blurred). This installation, a "heterotopia," (a space that disrupts or challenges dominant social norms - like a forgotten homestead within a gallery) disrupts traditional notions of place, employing charred wood, chain-link fencing, and redacted landscape paintings as "traces" (physical remnants or signs of past events), "indexes" (signs that point to or indicate something else), and an "anarchive" (a collection of fragmented and disordered memories) to explore the complex interplay of time, memory, and our evolving relationship with the environment. Focusing on the materials themselves, this exhibit invites viewers to contemplate the consequences of our actions, the fractured nature of memory, and the interconnectedness of human and non-human actors within a rhizomatic network (a system of interconnected elements without a central hierarchy like roots spreading and connecting underground), using nostalgic elements not as escapism, but as tools to examine the present.

Pacing and Contrast: The lawnmower sound will connect all the spaces, while the paintings and the water room can offer different perspectives on the themes.

Installation: The two primary artworks (Longleaf and Firebreak), the reflecting pool, and the paintings will be crated and shipped to the gallery. All other elements, primarily lumber and framing, are readily available from local building suppliers; a detailed shopping list and guidelines on which lumber to cut will be provided. This reliance on readily available materials ensures the installation can be adapted to various gallery spaces and budgets.

To ensure visual cohesion, the charred wood from the primary artworks will be echoed in the framing elements used throughout the installation, creating a sense of continuity and connecting the different components. The color palette will be limited to blacks, browns, and natural wood tones, with the addition of greens and reds in the Trace series and redacted landscape paintings to provide subtle variety while maintaining overall harmony.

Audio equipment for the lawnmower sound will be concealed beneath the platform, ensuring that the focus remains on the visual and spatial elements of the installation. The reflecting pool will be set up in a dimly lit adjacent gallery, connected and filled with water; its pump is designed to operate continuously, casting water caustics on the walls and ceiling. This dimly lit space will contrast the main gallery and create a more contemplative atmosphere.

Paintings will be arranged in groupings, with varying scales and levels of abstraction, to create visual interest and avoid monotony. The walls and, if possible, the floor will be painted a soft sage green. The dark frames of the paintings, the black of the burnt wood, and the beige of the raw wood in the installation and its elements will further contribute to the visual cohesion of the installation, while the organic forms and natural colors of the artworks will connect to the landscape and the themes of environmental change.

The overall layout will be designed to adapt to different gallery spaces. The placement of the sculptures, paintings, and reflecting pool will be adjusted to create a balanced and engaging visual experience. Lighting will be used strategically to highlight key elements, create visual connections, and enhance the textures and colors of the materials.

The Water Caustic Room: The caustic room will contain a mirrored reflecting pool of rippling water lit so that it throws water caustics on the ceiling and walls. It will be made of 2x4 cribbing that thematically ties it to the central installation. The placement at the back of the gallery creates a sense of journey and discovery. It also allows the water element to have dedicated space and impact. The water room transitions from the central installation's uneasy atmosphere to a more contemplative or reflective space.

Shipping and Assembly: The artwork and a small reflecting pool will be crated and shipped, and miniature paintings will be packed in the empty reflecting pool. All other materials will be sourced locally. A shopping list and assembly instructions will be provided.

Symbolism: This installation reflects a contemporary interrogation of American myth-making through material-based storytelling.

Created from charred tree bark and framing, it directly responds to my experiences growing up in rural Northeast Florida in the 90s, where I witnessed the devastating effects of wildfires and the growing presence of drug use in my community, of charred trees and weathered shotgun houses, hunting clubs and shopping malls. The small town I knew has expanded exponentially in recent years; what once felt like a remote and rural community is now increasingly connected to urban sprawl. This work reflects on the rapid transformation of my childhood landscape—a transformation that mirrors the broader changes happening in communities nationwide. Through this work, I explore the complexities and contradictions of rural life on the borders of the suburban—a reality far from the simple, idyllic existence often portrayed. This exhibit takes inspiration from the decline of the American ideal, themes explored in Philip Roth's American Pastoral, particularly the loss of innocence in the face of social and political change.

Influences: Jacques Derrida's (Deconstruction, Trace, Pharmakon) concept of 'trace' is evident in the charred wood and foraged clay in my Trace series, which act as a palimpsest of the land and physical reminders of past events.

Michel Foucault: (Heterotopia, Discourse, Power/Knowledge)

Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari: (Rhizome, Assemblage, Becoming)

Rosalind Krauss: (Sculpture in the Expanded Field, The Originality of the Avant-Garde)

Kurt Schwitters’s Merzbau

Small paintings: The small landscape paintings reference the grand tradition of 19th-century American landscape painting—artists like Asher B. Durand, Sanford Robinson Gifford, George Inness, and Thomas Moran — who framed the West through the lens of Manifest Destiny. However, these works are not celebrations of that vision but subtly disrupt it. Rainbows and rainy atmospheres that dissolve into their frames introduce a sense of transience and impermanence. The rainbow—often a symbol of promise and renewal—is a marker, hinting at the land's beauty and the historical consequences of its conquest. These paintings will be dispersed throughout the installation, some dissolving into abstraction, others fully rendered, creating a fragmented sense of historical memory within the space. By using beauty as an entry point, these works encourage reflection on what has been lost in pursuing the American ideal. The redacted landscapes are used to show the human connection to specific places, and times.

Institutional Alignment: The Hum aligns with institutions that support immersive, material-driven installations exploring land, memory, and the shifting American ideal. Its intersection of painting, sculpture, and sound expands contemporary conversations around landscape and historical mythmaking. Artists such as Robert Smithson, Ana Mendieta, and Maya Lin have explored similar ideas of land as a site of memory and transformation. The use of found materials and industrial remnants echoes the approaches of Cornelia Parker, Rachel Whiteread, and Theaster Gates, repurposing remnants of destruction into something new. Sound elements, like the persistent lawnmower hum, create an immersive psychological space similar to Susan Philipsz and Janet Cardiff's work, drawing from historical and contemporary influences.

Spaces for Dialogue: The flexibility of the format allows the work to be both a private, introspective museum piece and a public space for facilitated dialogue and shared reflection.

Acknowledgement: Indigenous peoples have inhabited the land for millennia, and I acknowledge the historical injustices they have faced. I aim to create a dialogue space that recognizes the natural beauty of this landscape and the social and environmental challenges it faces. The redacted landscapes are designed to help with this. This work is intended to invite diverse perspectives and does not seek to romanticize rural life or erase the complex realities of those who live there.

If you are a community group or organization member that would like to contribute to the dialogue surrounding 'The Hum,' or specifically the stories told in the redacted landscapes, don't hesitate to contact me.