Douglas Fir, Paint
74” x 70” x 112”

An installation about memory, this group of sculptures honor the complex histories contained within seven beams of salvaged lumber. The wooden beams have been shaped and worn down by their often chaotic passage through time and space, grown from seeds planted decades ago, thousands of miles away.

The physical marks on their surfaces further connect to the wood’s origins, extending from the grain pattern within the wood, but also echoing the wordless language of the natural world. Carved by both chainsaw and chisel, they mirror strata of clouds, waves on the ocean, cracks in stone, and eroded sediment.

Ultimately, these sculptures are totems, monolithic markers which extend beyond their materiality, paying tribute to time’s effect on all things. The installation is a point in space in which one may pause and reflect on their own journey through life, and consider the many ways in which we are shaped by our environment, as well as the relentless hands of time.

Sculptures commissioned by Mayor’s Office of Honolulu.
Photos by Lila Lee.