Work
Fiber art, fieldwork, and remote sensing as concurrent research methodologies
My current research is focused on using satellite technology to assess forest recovery in the boreal. Interwoven with my scientific practice, I am using textile-based research methods to complicate, explore, and understand relationships between the landscape, technology, and myself as a researcher.
Big Pixel, 2023
3meter x 3meter
Cotton fabric + natural dyes + DJI Mini Drone
This piece is part of synchronous experiments in understanding boreal forest recovery using satellite-based remote sensing and arts-based practices. A fabric square that is true-to-scale with pixels in Planet satellite imagery was placed at sites of scientific data collection. This process was documented with cellphones and drone imagery. This reimagining a portion of the forest floor as a uniform pixel reveals the trade-offs between technological vision and in person observation. The hyperlocal dyestuff and laborious process of colouring the fabric parallels the personal decision making and time-consuming process involved in preparing remote sensing imagery.
Fieldmap, 2023
175 cm x 85 cm
Cotton linen fabric + embroidery thread
What counts as data? And how do we collect, validate, archive, and share it with others? Fieldmap is an embroidered counter-cartography of my quantitative field research. It prioritizes relationships and emotions, centering the experience of research, rather than traditional hard boundaries and quantitative measurements.
untitled, 2023
38 cm x 30 cm
Foraged natural dye (black spruce, tamarack, jack pine, Labrador tea, bog birch, equisetum), rolled cotton, wool, embroidery thread.
how to make a line, ongoing
Interactive media. 640 px x 480px
Most of my research is computational. I sit behind a desk, writing algorithms to compare and contrast forest disturbances and the adjacent matrix in satellite imagery. This view of the forest is in stark contrast to immersive fieldwork.
My intention with this piece is to highlight the level of abstraction needed for my remote sensing research. The program will ingest descriptions of boreal disturbance details and will output knit code that is representative of that generalized algorithmic landscape.
19 days of fieldwork
250 cm x 200 cm
Flagging tape, mosquito netting, aluminum forestry tags
This project documents my field data collection campaigns from 2022. Using metadata from the vegetation data collection application, I knit representations of our daily labour. Distances walked each day are knit in flagging tape, and the time we spent each day is knit in mosquito netting. Field plot locations link the strands of time and distance involved in this labour, creating three-dimensional forms that reveal new questions about the labour of research, data quality, and the impact of environment on data collection.
Alberta Parks Stories - A participatory mapping project, 2020
Digital media
As a lover of Alberta's natural spaces, I was curious about the areas proposed for removal from the Alberta parks system. I have spent time in several of these parks, but many I had not yet visited. I wanted to see where these parks were and hear more about these spaces from folks that spent time at them..
I collected short stories about these parks to help people share their personal perspective of these places. Stories are anonymous, and were sourced from folks in Alberta-based subreddits.
If you zoom in on the map, the labeled parks have public stories associated with them. Hover over the park to see the story and additional park information. Other parks, those slated for removal and those that are not are also on the map with basic park information.
This project was noticed by the local Livewire news and shared to a wider audience.
The fullscreen map can be found here.