Life in the Balance

Life in the Balance is a large-scale installation project involving repurposed, natural, and new materials. The concept was born out of a deep, personal grief over the suicide of a close family member and has developed into a pivotal piece about acts of passion, loss, understanding, forgiveness, compassion, and finding an anchor and a peaceful balance.

The reclaimed kayak that hangs suspended 15 feet above the floor and lead weights become the support and anchors for over 400 Locust pods and 5,000 glass beads, strung on 7,500 feet of fine wire. The reference to water, being above and below the surface, touches on the concept of beginnings and endings, safety and peril. There is a subtle reference to Catholicism in that the beads, or air bubbles, are set in the cadence of a rosary and bisect the installation forming a cross. The circle of sky blue sand, sprinkled with incense, and centered below the piece is iconic and eternal.

This installation signals a departure from the more personal search for usefulness and value in life-past-its-prime of my older work and begins to address the larger social issue of marginalized people. This is the drumbeat that has been hounding me, inspiring me to speak visually about issues that need more volume in order for them to warrant our attention and keep the discussion relevant.