we drank from a well and it was good
We drank from a well, and it was good. is a meditation on transgenerational mirroring. Like genetic building blocks passed from our parents, we can also inherit their teachings. I spend summers soaking up my mother's knowledge of gardening. I saw her create a food forest from its inception to all of its glory now. Her green thumb inspired me, and it made me think about sustainability.
That word stuck with me in relation to my life and a life I may have had if I were born during my mother’s or grandmother's generation. What does it mean for my mother to have all this knowledge of agriculture and not pass it along to me? Can generations of knowledge be passed genetically? I like that idea, but it's daunting to think about the loss of all that knowledge if it is not passed on. I was compelled to capture the spirit of the transfer of transgenerational knowledge while also pondering the loss of that very same knowledge.
We drank from a well, and it was good, 2021
Wood, wheat paste, heat transfer vinyl, gold foil, and a 35mm film photograph of our family home in Seneca, SC.
We drank from a well, and it was good, 2021,
Installation view at Oakwood Arts, Richmond, VA.
We drank from a well, and it was good, (detail)
We drank from a well, and it was good, (detail)
We drank from a well, and it was good, (detail)
Portrait of the artist’s mother in her garden wearing a hand-made bonnet gown that reads sustainability.
We drank from a well, and it was good, (detail)
Portrait of the artist’s mother in her garden wearing a hand-made bonnet gown that reads sustainability.
We drank from a well, and it was good, (detail)
Portrait of the artist’s mother in her garden wearing a hand-made bonnet gown that reads sustainability.
We drank from a well, and it was good, (detail)
Portrait of the artist’s mother in her garden wearing a hand-made bonnet gown that reads sustainability.