I make small ceramic gems, stones and rocks. By mimicking the appearance of natural objects, I invite the viewer to question whether they are looking at a created or found object. I also use 3d computer modeling and rendering to create simulated photographs of objects to further obfuscate genuine from fabricated, and question the inherent values of each.
I often think of my work as a twenty-first century cabinet of curiosities. While the original cabinet collectors sought out rare and strange things from the natural world, my collection is all facsimiles and counterfeits. My collection blurs the line between real and simulated. It invites the viewer to question their perceptions. As technology progresses we can no longer trust what we see, and often simulacra seem more real in our memory then true experience. We are living in an age of simulations, living vicariously through screens that seduce and delight us. We are given vivid memories of people, places and events that do not exist in the physical world. Are these memories inherently inferior to true experience, or are they a valuable extension of our imaginations?