Maps and Surveys

Drawings on vellum over photographs. 2013-present.

In these works on translucent vellum suspended over photographic prints, simple emotions are given ambiguous moral weight through the use of the authoritarian language of museums and archives. This series explores the untapped utility of obsolete manual technologies like map-making, index-card cataloging, and object labeling, turning practices originally designed for mastery and control into vehicles for personal expressions of joy, humor, and earnest desire.

In an age of ubiquitous digital devices, drawing hand-made maps is both an exercise in nostalgic practice and an opportunity to re-imagine the idea of recording experience. The moments these maps record will never reappear.