BLACKBIRD: The Making of an Environmental Mural
For the last six months I have been screen printing thousands of feathers from black recycled plastic in preparation for starting a new series of black pieces.
Blackbird is the first piece in this new collection and the fourth environmental mural that addresses the steep plunge in bird populations around the world as a result of human induced climate change and habitat fragmentation.
Many artists have had black periods. Louise Nevelson comes to mind as well as Ad Reinhardt. Chakaia Booker’s entire body of work using recycled car tires is many shades of black.
I enjoy the challenge of working in monochromatic color schemes. The limitations in color open up creative possibilities in the shape and format of the pieces.
The black feathers are screen printed with images of endangered birds and in some cases overprinted with text about bird extinction in endangered languages.
As in all my larger work, Blackbird was created in 4 vertical sections, each of which have two zippers attaching 3 components, for a total of 12 sections. The zippers allow me to pack the piece into one box that can be checked as luggage.
The images not only show the stages of creating this piece, but also the many hands required to make it. I am grateful to my hardworking studio team for tackling all the many steps required for making this mural.
Blackbird will debut at my solo show Turbulence: Birds, Beauty, Language & Loss at the Block Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina which runs 12/4/24 – 4/25/25.
