Compost
Growing up in New York City, there were aspects of the natural world all around but they all felt somehow fragmented and taken out of context. There is an anxiety that comes from living in a rapidly-changing world that’s becoming more and more detached from nature, while the food we eat is a daily reminder of our total dependence upon it.
I started painting compost after managing NYC farmer’s markets where compost collection services were provided by non-profits at a time when the city had no infrastructure for it. I was inspired by the kaleidoscope of colors that changed throughout the day as people added to it, having made the less convenient choice to save their compost and deliver it to the weekly market in their neighborhood. There is still the potential to regenerate the natural environment through simple but impactful community acts. Compost represents transformation and an endless cycling in which things never truly have to be wasted. These paintings depict both the disorientation and optimism of living in a big city in the midst of the climate crisis.