I Reckon

Sheffield Wood Gallery, Fine Arts Center, Greenville SC.

In the spring of 2024, my commute to work had me on I-85 for upwards of three and a half hours each day. I spent most of this time observing the landscape between North and South Carolina; pop-up fruit stands and firework warehouses and truck stops. Each morning I passed a large, bright red cross erected in a churchyard that bore the words “JESUS SAVES.” Ten minutes later, I’d pass an oversized confederate flag flown at full mast, towering over the pine trees that lined the interstate. 

I Reckon - my first solo exhibition - consists of works created in the year following my move back home to the American South after living in New England. This body of work embodies my process of reckoning with the casual hostility and violence embedded in the culture of my home. These works draw focus to institutional markers and regional identifiers that nod towards Christian nationalism, white supremacy, and classism; themes that are woven into many aspects of Southern life and are subtly romanticized under the guise of “nostalgia,” “tradition,” and “heritage.” While these issues are typically addressed through a sociological lens, I Reckon is deeply personal; this body of work is heavily influenced by my perspective as a southerner and as someone who was complicit in these constructs for much of my life. 

Above: Exodus (detail), 2024. Church belfry, lichen, tulle, thread, cotton, cicada exuviae, brood chorusing.

Left: Exodus, 2024. Church belfry, lichen, tulle, thread, cotton cording, cicada exuviae, brood chorusing.

Left: Backbone, 2024. Tulle, thread, copper, glycerine, auto glass shattered in collision.

Below: Backbone (detail), 2024. Tulle, thread, copper, glycerine, auto glass shattered in collision.

Right: Silver Lining, 2024. Glycerine, my first gray hair.

Below: Profit, 2024. Tallow, glycerine, candle wick.

Above: Untitled (detail), 2024. Honeycomb calcite, pine altar table, found plate.

Left: Untitled, 2024. Honeycomb calcite, pine altar table, found plate.

Above: Brood (detail), 2024. Tulle, thread, cicada exuviae.

Left: Brood, 2024. Tulle, thread, cicada exuviae.

Pillar, 2024. Steel, copper, tulle, thread, salt crystals.