My work critiques the history of unsustainable practices in our capitalist society and offers an imperfect, abstract nudge of a utopian-reaching, sustainable future. From my collective research, I acknowledge the practices of living sustainably through a landscape of found materials and repurposed products. The term sustainability is now commonly used across many disciplines. Climate change has pushed it to the forefront of many discussions about consumer choices and proved its relevance in our current culture. My research is informed by popular media, articles, books, podcasts, and newsletters. Academically, I was introduced to sustainability by taking classes in environmentalism, biology, plant practices, and even graphic design. All these educate me on the relevance of sustainability in the hierarchy in our lives. My process begins with no final composition in mind, just a commitment to developing areas of the cardboard-canvas that speak to certain realms of sustainable practices. I seek artists across media whose work expresses dynamic compositions, strategic layering, and inspiring color palettes. Likewise, editorial illustrations and digital graphics on social media platforms like, Instagram, inform my content, so that it may be more approachable to wider audiences. My work celebrates mindfulness, the every day, and the range of practices we all may adopt to ensure a healthier planet for ourselves and for future generations....

Through the works materiality, I aim to foreground a hopeful view of sustainability while implicitly critiquing the unexamined nature of common practices like recycling, consumer behavior, and more. My critique of capitalism in regards to the environment began with my interest in greenwashing (the act of marketing a business as environmentally friendly, when they’re not), and how global industries were using the tactic. As I researched, my work dove into the imperfect green economy, dirty money, dangerous supply chains, and the dishonesty behind mission statements. As consumers, we can voice our concerns if we’re aware and educated about these problems. This work chooses to celebrate our individual attempts and commitments to sustainability, in order to push conversations in a productive direction.

In my initial research, I recognize the privileges and challenges of living sustainably because the ‘green market’ has not made products and services accessible to all classes yet. I bought, used, and repurposed materials that signified what is popularly known as sustainable, from my academic and personal perspective. I acknowledge my privileged position as a white college student from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and with this privilege, my work intends to dispel the exclusionary idea that one needs to be wealthy to make sustainable choices. To broaden my perspective, I conducted a survey of 21 college-aged participants from diverse backgrounds, asking what sustainability looked like to them. Furthermore, I gathered their definitions of sustainability, how they practiced it in their everyday lives, and if they viewed any familial or community decisions as ‘sustainable.’ The responses informed how my audience may interact and relate and what materials I chose to represent the overall conversation. The responses reflected on personal stories, similar to my own, that related to the resourcefulness of a family to get by due to poverty or job instability, and did not necessarily view it as sustainable until now. The survey offered opportunities for storytelling narratives, whether of my own or from others.

I create by collecting found materials with renewable qualities and assemble them in dynamic, colorful compositions and collage them alongside painted backgrounds. As I arrange, I question the materiality and push the boundary of how these arrangements are manifesting a larger, hopeful narrative.

I draw inspiration from artists like Alexis Rockman, who critiques environmental degradation in his paintings, and Ricardo Santos, a graphic designer, digital collager, and photo montager. Both develop compositions that lead your eye around the piece, identifying key, detailed elements to support the whole. I’m inspired by the painter Loribelle Spirovski and digital illustrator Haley Tippman for their colorful palettes that inform how I should let my own color palette develop naturally from the materials I assemble. Their thoughtful mark-making influences my organic elements and paint strokes.

In my work, materials are given a new life; they symbolically challenge the way our capitalistic society currently functions and critiques the role capitalism plays in individual consumption of goods. Through my art, I question what could be if we could all practice sustainability and hopefully inspire a greener future for generations to come.

36x34 inches, thrifted, gifted, or used for its purpose and recycled it into this piece.