Squash ‘Em
Solo Exhibition
September 17 - November 6, 2022
Southern VT Arts Center, Manchester, VT
Statement from the Artist
My exhibition, “Squash ‘Em”, informs viewers about how the invasive Spotted Lantern Flies are destroying our beloved forests and instructs them on what to do when they see one - step on it! Through a series of six framed silver gelatin prints and an installation of over 250 3”x3” chemigrams you begin to see that these insects are coming into our forests in droves, covering trees in an overwhelming display, sucking the sap from them and then leaving the forests sticky and stained in black mold. The “title track” of this body of work is also the most striking: A site-specific installation full of pattern and detail draws you in to notice a wide variety of shoe prints and squashed bugs. You begin to sense how a community can come together to stop the spread of this invasive insect and save our forests. I’m hoping my artwork will educate and entice its viewers to work together to do so.
Each artwork was made experimentally inside the darkroom using analog photographic materials and light. I used a combination of hand-cut masks, live insects, photograms, 35mm film, pinhole photography, long exposures to the sun, and a process involving painting with chemistry to create each individual artwork. They are all unique, 1 of a kind, works made in 2021-2022.
Their first exhibition was from September 17 - November 6, 2022 at Southern VT Arts Center in Manchester, VT. A second solo exhibition was at Unbound Visual Arts in Boston, MA from August-September, 2023.
“Squash ‘Em”, 2021-2022
Site-specific installation at Southern VT Arts Center, Manchester, VT.
55.5” x 65”
Lumen printed chemigram on Silver gelatin paper. Each individual piece took over 3 hours to create.
Details shots below:
3” x 3” Lumen printed chemigrams framed in 4”x4” acrylic blocks.
I selected 8 pieces from the “Squash ‘Em” installation to frame separately and exhibit in the gallery space across from the installation.
“Sticky and Stained”, 2022
8”x10” Silver Gelatin Print framed in Silver Maple cross section with holes and streaks caused by ambrosia beetle infestation
“Invaded 1”, 2022
8”x10” Silver Gelatin Print framed in spalting Silver Maple with holes caused by boring beetles
“Invaded 2”, 2022
8”x10” Silver Gelatin Print framed in spalting Silver Maple with holes caused by boring beetles
Left: “Permeating”, 2022
Center: “Overwhelmed”, 2022
Right: “Infested”, 2022
“Permeating” and “Infested” are Silver Gelatin of Photogram and Lumen Prints framed in quarter-sawn white oak with holes caused by oak wood borer larvae
“Overwhelmed” is a Silver Gelatin Print of Pinhole Photograph over Photogram framed in live edged Silver Maple with holes caused by boring insects
Handmade sign says, “Us flatlanders from NJ + PA have discovered a few natural ways to get rid of SLF’s: 1. Squash Em (typically by stepping on them), 2. Plant Milkweed (it seems to poison them), 3. Purchase praying mantis eggs for your garden (they are the only found predator)
VT Invasives generously provided pamphlets about the spotted lantern flies and tree of heaven for gallery visitors to take home.
I made an insect display shadowbox of each stage of the spotted lantern fly lifecycle. This artifact was donated to the VT Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Forests, for educational purposes.
Special thanks to scientist Brianna Oliveira for teaching me how to pin insects and create the shadowbox.