Amongst my family’s acreage, set aside for habitat restoration, exists one particular piece of land that has gone through
much change. My family calls this landscape the “Cut-Off Woods” because the woodland was indiscriminately logged before
our ownership, and thus, the quality of the wood’s natural community had greatly deteriorated before we acquired the woods.
We have been working passionately over the years to assure that the future Cut-Off Woods will be a richly diverse, thriving
ecosystem. The work is gratifying, and each happy consequence of our efforts is celebrated. Yet, the woodland has been surrounded
by turmoil and conflict. A certain sadness surrounds us when we view the results of random unauthorized destructive acts performed by other human beings.
The Cut-Off Woods series of artworks celebrates the
historical forest and investigates the consequences of particular events of ecological harm. Also, the series explores
a time in the future, when perhaps the forest will be full of life, having survived the destructive acts of others and
having responded to our nurturing. Within these artworks, the map offers a language for the investigation of this
tumultuously changing landscape.
