I marvel at the efficiencies and opportunities created by the rapid ascent of technology in many forms. But I tremble at how we strive daily to provide resources to feed these machines that steadily solidify their control of our waking hours. We wage wars, at home and abroad, to secure the fuel, rare earth metals, and other raw materials that generate life-giving nectar to feed our machines. 

The sense of community and connectedness offered by social media and technological advances has altered our existence. Together we witnessed the advent of the calculator, VCR, cable television, personal computer, cell phone, internet, cryptocurrency, and technology’s evil villain du jour - AI. I use found, scavenged, and repurposed materials to create vibrant, interactive, dynamic sculptures and mosaics that invite people to contemplate their relationship with technology.

Hidden Beauty, my first exhibition, stripped the power away from the machines. Exposing the colors and textures hidden beneath drab protective cases, these works highlight how motherboards, heat sinks, and hard drives reveal the artistry and ingenuity of human beings. 

1001 - In Our Own Image, a public installation created for Artomatic 2024, combined the 2D aesthetic of exposed computer boards with a structural interactive kinetic sculpture. Curtains and walls of DVDs engaged visitors approaching the 8-foot-tall 800-pound circuit board-clad 4’x4’x4’ cube inviting them to “Spin Gently.”

70,000 people visited Artomatic 2024’s 8 floors of art in downtown DC. Over 7 weeks, tens of thousands of visitors approached the 1001 interactive sculpture, mesmerized. Critics, visitors, and fellow artists considered 1001 a showcase piece among creations by 1,000 artists. People took videos and photos and made repeat visits to bring friends to spin the cube. Post Brothers, a nationally recognized leader in development, innovation, and sustainability, owns the building that hosted Artomatic 2024. They purchased 1001 and will feature the sculpture in the lobby of this same building, post-renovation. With my reuse/recycle mindset, I could not be happier to work with the Post Brothers.

Art should be accessible and interactive. No matter my inspiration to create the cube, I was both flattered and humbled by the reactions and interactions from thousands of strangers. The most common observation likened the cube to Star Trek’s Borg mothership. I asked ChatGPT to describe the Borg’s significance. My intent was not to create the Borg spaceship, but my friendly AI perfectly described my artistic vision. 

“The Borg, a fictional civilization from the Star Trek universe, serve as a chilling cautionary tale for modern society. They embody the dangers of unchecked technological advancement, the erosion of individuality, and the consequences of pursuing efficiency at the cost of morality and empathy. Their relentless pursuit of perfection comes at a great cost to themselves and the civilizations they assimilate. Their single-minded focus on efficiency and optimization leads them to disregard the value of diversity, creativity, and empathy. In modern society, the drive for profit and productivity often overshadows the importance of ethical considerations and social responsibility. This disregard for the well-being of others can have devastating consequences, from environmental degradation to social inequality and systemic injustice.”

I present an aesthetic judgment of technology revealing synaptic landscapes filled with rich colors and textures for us to contemplate.