As someone who identifies deeply with both art and science, I’ve always found myself torn between the two worlds, the dueling sides of the brain. Yet, through their interconnectedness I’m able to envision solutions to complex global problems. Art is where dreaming happens. Science is where dreams are tested and applied. This intimate interplay is what my art, at its most essential, is about. 

As a Gen Z, I’ve come of age watching catastrophes unfold all over the world and every day in the news. Growing up in Canada and enjoying its wilderness, I’ve seen first hand the ravaging effects of global warming. The glaciers in Whistler have now receded to the point that summer alpine ski training has ceased, microbursts have felled majestic trees that once stood in my backyard, and burning forests create some of the world’s worst air quality.  

My work as both a scientist and an artist gives me a unique perspective to observe the problems of our time at once conceptually and practically. I feel uniquely positioned to use my intersecting identities to contribute to a better future.

Science for me is a way to predict the future I want to see. Art is the vehicle through which I can best influence others into action. For millennia, art has connected disparate people over common beliefs. By using vivid colors and iconic landscapes often infused with enzymes used in the lab and inspirational figures, I hope viewers find connection through a common love of natural beauty while absorbing the gravity of what collective inaction means for the future of our planet.