Moving On

Moving On is a series that turns roadside tire debris into emotionally charged pieces about disintegration and integration. The resulting assemblages visualize the interplay of alienation and connection as it relates to the depth and complexity of the human experience. Cast-off rubber shards recall abandonment and loss. Skeletal scraps lie haunting and motionless, frayed and afraid, crying out for rescue. Threadbare reminders of a dismantled life come to the surface as untethered souls, despairing in their mangled, misshapen forms. The material itself, at once fractured and powerful, suggests remnants of a ruptured existence. Stranded fragments carry an urgency, each with its own personality and story. These rugged yet delicate remains linger in displacement. They appear vulnerable and naked in their bald, worn-out states. The wounded pieces retain a resiliency suggestive of devastation and renewal. The scraps embody use, abuse and transformation in their immense physicality and fragility.

The material dictates my creative process; all manipulations are hand wrought. Cutting and slicing tools disrupt the tires’ innate movement and integrity. Their human-like qualities tug at me, compelling me to bring the scarred remains back to life. Some pieces I find belly side up in wispy strands. Other pieces land on the highway skin-side down like meaty slabs. There is a chaotic air about them. The gutted casings and warped shreds endure despite spinning off from high-speed cars and over-sized trucks, the vehicles and their occupants racing to move on. Gripped by the intricate fibers, treads, veins, patterns, seams and the turbulent energy coursing through them, I rework the remnants to restore their potential and intuitive motion. I am drawn to release their innate gestures. The arising forms frame a narrative about control and spontaneity, along with uncertainty and change. In this series I use the evocative tire material to investigate perseverance, rejuvenation and autonomy. The work becomes an exploration of the texture of human messiness and a play between past, present and future.