(7) Umbrellas - Inkjet print on banner nylon, water, umbrella frames, handmade mounts, 52” Diameter, 39” Depth
(7) Dodecahedrons - laser-cut acrylic pieces from digital photograph, hand-constructed rhombic dodecahedrons, 5"x5"x5"

Work from "Intricate Observations x2", an exhibition featuring pieces from the ongoing series Unsung Heroes, which centers invertebrates and their role as indicator species in water quality assessment.

Underwater photographs from my diving trips are digitally composited and then stitched into umbrellas or fashioned into dodecahedrons (a polyhedron with 12 faces). The works are installed all about the gallery, encouraging an immersive experience of looking as gallery attendees move about the space, becoming part of the grouping of pieces which are hung from the ceiling, sprout from the ground, and protrude from the wall.

Unsung Heroes creates a context for humans to think of themselves as an umbrella species because we, as stewards of the earth, might be considered the most important one, with the potential to protect or neglect indicator species like those featured, through our implementation of policy and steering conservation and its effectiveness. All this underscores that through protecting umbrella species, we can indirectly protect the other orders that make up an ecological habitat..