Patch
2021
multimedia: site-specific installation* and month-long durational performance at Franconia Sculpture Park, video, poem
*three Boon® baby bottle drying racks (product-named “Lawn,” “Patch,” and “Grass” respectively) embedded in the grass beneath a weeping willow tree located in the northeast corner of the park, facing the willow at an azimuth of 0º (due north)
provenance:
Lawn|Patch|Grass, Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, MN (April 2021–January 2022)
Nature 2023, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA Museum), Gimpo, South Korea (February 22–March 12, 2023)
Lull, works by Jenn Sova and Sarah Umles, 1122 Gallery, Portland, OR (August 2023)
I extracted the earth—
sometimes violently,
other times tenderly.
I did so with kitchen tools
and bare hands.
An earthworm emerged,
then retracted from my touch
when I tried to save it from the sharp edge of my spatula.
I thought about how we assert ourselves upon Mother Nature
and how she asserts herself upon us.
I thought about her cycles;
about time.
Invisible clocks.
Pressure cooker clocks.
Biological clocks.
The willow tree’s tendrils danced in the breeze,
clung to my hair.
Was she caressing me,
or pleading for me to stop?
I returned to the site
again and again—
performing acts of care.
I did so with shears, a bottle,
and bare hands.
Dandelions flowered,
then seeded and died
more quickly than I could wish upon them.
I thought about how we force ourselves upon Mother Nature
and how she forces herself upon us.
I thought about my cycles;
about time.
Invisible clocks.
Pressure cooker clocks.
Biological clocks.
My fingertips brushed through blades of grass,
aerated the earth.
Was I caressing her,
or pleading for her to stop?