Foraging and categorizing observations from the Pacific Northwest transpired into how I process discomfort in an unfamiliar landscape. Materials I’ve collected the past two years are natural ephemera from wandering, discarded commercially made objects, and traditional craft materials. The components installed in Terrestrial Aether experience treatments of preservation and decay. These object transformations mimic temporal physicality and kinetic stirrings, two features evident in life. How can we begin to perceive divergent understandings of the universe, to transform it into a connection with others? Animism was potentially the first expression of religion, allowing humanity to acknowledge being part of a harmonious network with all creation. This theory accepts spiritual essence is not only within humans, but all creatures, objects, and phenomena. 

Through an eschatological view of animism, I investigate disintegration and spirituality. In this project I’ve created an environment identifying cyclical life in nature as a liaison between realms— giving value to human experience and earthly ecosystems. Based upon contemplation of faith, this installation is a portal for equanimity to aspire for peace while on an inescapable path to decay. Upon research of mycorrhizal and bodily systems, I reimagine the potential for awareness, connection, and change in an evolving world. Objects are activated through voluntary movement from the air flow, amplifying the experience outside of the physical. This space has debris living in harmony with an unknown organism linking everything together. These objects are clues to attempt to understanding of the beginning, end, or cyclicity of existence.