Artist Statement

My practice investigates the conceptual and poetic implications of mapmaking, specifically, how mapping technologies frame our experience of the physical world. My current interest is in the nature of the amateur explorer via virtual representations of the world through satellite maps like Google Earth. The “desktop explorer”, surveying remote regions from familiar territory, serves as a contemporary substitute for the popular archetype of the historical adventurer. In my work, I raise questions about the virtual experience of the world through printed media, sculptural objects and video installation.

My work frequently references places that do not exist in the physical world, such as phantom islands and other invented geographies. Sandy Island, a nonexistent landmass that persisted on traditional and virtual maps until 2012, is the basis for several recent works, including an installation of a tourist bureau with assorted postcards advertising the island as a viable travel destination using imagery from Google Earth. Consequently, my work often alludes to fictitious or unlikely places and situations using appropriated images and objects as the raw material for prints, objects and videos. Through my work, I aim to explore the relationship between the mapped image and emerging notions of exploration, virtuality, and the simulated environment.