Each Canvas (unframed) : 44”x 72” (110cm x 182 cm)
Oil Stick on Canvas

This series of paintings celebrate the land upon which we live our lives and make our homes. This is done through the careful observation and interpretation of large boulders, a visual revealing and retelling of the stories which are whispered by these ancient monoliths.

After draping un-stretched canvas over each rock’s surface, oil sticks were rubbed across it, making visible the immaterial essence lying within the stone itself. Each painting in the series meditates on a specific facet of the stone’s life cycle:

Left - conjuring the motion of its liquid past as molten lava.
Right - embodying its solid, dense present state.
Center - visualizing the stone’s essence as it transcends physicality, and exists beyond matter.

While they connect to themes which are cosmic and ethereal, these artworks are ultimately about home— paying tribute to the most essential and universal home upon which all of humanity lives: The earth itself.

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This artwork is part of Sanctuaries, a site-specific installation at the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design.
All Images on this page are Courtesy of Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Honolulu, Hawaii and © 2021 Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, photographer: David Franzen