In A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Rebecca Solnit paraphrases the philosopher Walter Benjamin: “To be lost is to be fully present, and to be fully present is to be capable of being in uncertainty and mystery. One does not get lost but loses oneself with the implication that it is a conscious choice, a chosen surrender, a psychic state achievable through geography.”
In my work, I explore issues of memory, creativity and the endeavor to be fully present using my explorations of geography. My use of – and subsequent reliance upon – navigation apps while moving through the urban landscape and its parks has robbed me of any sense of place and deprived me of the ability to just get lost, both in thought and on journeys. The desire to surrender to my surroundings, allow myself to meander, and notice my environment inspires me to walk the streets of NYC and wander through its parks disconnected from my smartphone. Linking my internal world to the external world allows for new narratives and the assimilation of details. The development of these practices has reawakened my ability to dream, wonder and observe in a visceral way.
The rejection of digital navigation is related to my practice of shredding mailings that promote manufactured lifestyles and demands for attention. Using this medium extends my pursuit of uncertainty through a meditative process that allows forms to emerge from the memories of my journeys. Inspired by the notion of getting lost, I am compelled to develop a visual language around my emotional and inner response to the interactions with my chosen and rediscovered geographies.