Compression
Compression is a body of work that emerged from my walks along railways and the discarded materials I collected there. Walking the tracks, I started to notice that I kept encountering black rectangular objects. I became captivated by their intricate surfaces and began intentionally seeking them out. I later discovered that these materials are structural components used as shock absorbers at railroad crossings, where the tracks intersect with roadways. These scattered objects, gathered across several railway lines throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area, are the basis of this body of work. The varied materials embedded in these works were also gathered from the railways. I choose materials for their visual qualities or for an inexplicable magnetism that draws me to them. Materials scattered across miles of railway are collected, condensed into square forms, each created intuitively through a responsive dialogue with the materials that allows their unique qualities and histories to shape the final composition.
While walking the railways, I observed long periods of stillness interrupted by the sound and movement of passing trains. This rhythm is carried into the work, referencing the movement and mechanical pulse of the train. Together, the works resemble aerial views of landscapes that recall my walks along the railways.
I experience this rhythm internally while walking the rails. For much of that time, there isn’t anything to collect, but with dedicated walking and waiting, I stumble upon remarkable objects. These discoveries are almost always attended by a mixture of exhaustion and anticipation. In making this work, I compress and layer these moments and artifacts whose meaning was infused by the long stretches of searching.