Volcanic environments are some of the most compelling sites on Earth to witness, record and gather evidence of the Earth’s coming into being in a perpetual creative destruction. The vast expanse of geologic time coexisting with human time is uniquely tangible and visible in the environments of Rome and Naples, where for millennia inhabitants have lived intimately with volcanoes’ fertile soil, hot springs, abundant material resources, and unpredictable cycles of destruction.

My time as an Affiliated Artist will be spent in an exploration of archives, archeological sites, volcanic environments and the contemporary city, which are inextricably interwoven in space and time. This immersion will fuel the creation of large-scale works on fabric through exposure to volcanic phenomena and use of found materials and images. The opportunity to center my work in Rome and Naples will critically expand my ongoing project Eruption using strategies of observing, recording and excavating, materially and metaphorically, to contemplate and visualize deep time, a volatile and mysterious Earth and humans’ place within it.