2020

48” x 69”

Plant-dyed secondhand bed sheets, thread, used 2x4 studs

A soft and unstable monument to the unavoidable nature of loss and turmoil.

Tornados are unpredictable and random. They can decimate one house while leaving the neighboring house totally intact. They evoke feelings of destruction and fear due to the power of their massive and natural spinning force. I chose to use the basic shape of a tornado to symbolically represent the emotional state of grief. Grief is undeniably a part of the human experience, it can occur in so many ways and different times in one’s life, prompting an unexpected sense of isolation even though we know it’s part of being alive. We offer condolences, yet the words do not feel strong enough to sustain our weight through the uprooting, flinging, and dropping that the tornado of grief spirals you in and out of.