Post-survival Mythology
ALTEX04 • Draining the weight
Soil, living organisms, handmade string, 2018

VWP00 • Another Scroll 
Steel, plexiglass, soil, living organisms, 2018

DRW08
pen, soil, charcoal, redart clay on mulberry paper, 2018




For as long as I can remember, getting lost in routines and toxic environments, feeling overwhelmed by disappointment, and never quite meeting expectations and obligations are common experiences. I respond to these and their consequent demands by checking out, becoming outcast, seeking to disappear, because maintaining a safe distance is easier than engaging. Alienating and separating the self from painful memories, as well as from the present and possibly the future, are attempts at self-preservation within the day to day function of life’s “machine.”

I was a machine. I wanted to be a machine. No feelings. No problem.

“post-survival” is a reminder to continue living, starting with the self:
Post-survival asks, “How can I be sustainable?”
Post-survival is an extension of self-care.
“Post” means after;
“survival” means continuing to exist in spite of difficult circumstances.
Reconnecting with and integrating interests into everyday life is an act of motivation.
Doing small actions one finds interesting, experimenting, trying something new, and being flexible allow one to grow. Post-survival is a system for the self beyond necessities: a system of support and encouragement and motivation to live a fulfilling life.
Post-survival focuses on sustaining a fruitful adventure, sustaining stability, and establishing a system for living.





How to make vertical earth?
These are tests of resiliency, of what happens under pressure and within the given limitations.
Through limitations and rules, play and creativity is found.

I was searching for something meaningful beyond a deteriorating mind. Through the natural world I feel transported when the breath of plants enters my space, and the sensation of rocks and soil touching my bare feet

an experiment that led me to it and its possibilities, including a vertical wall planter without a bottom. The soil is compressed and suspended between two plexiglass panes, held together by steel channels on either side, with an empty bottom, allowing the possibility of all the dirt falling out.