ALCHEMY of RUST

At the start of 2023, I was preparing my latest ambient album for release, sorting through a collection of 500 photos of rust and metal to consider for the accompanying artwork. I was questioning how time changes our perception and memory since much of the project was recorded and nearly abandoned over a decade ago.

Here in New Mexico, there is no shortage of colors and textures, with the slow effect of weather altering and changing the environment and everything in it. Many of these photos were taken in and around Santa Fe, Glorieta, Placitas and Rio Rancho, of arroyo cars, dumpsters, electrical boxes, the backs of signs and scraps of metal — anywhere where time and weather had the opportunity to transform and age the material.

When creating artwork, I typically work on small-scale pieces about the size of a postcard, but this time I wondered how the images might have a life beyond the confines of a CD and began enlarging and arranging them into larger panels, sometimes chronologically and other times by location and pattern. Much like the music I create, I allowed themes and images to repeat across multiple canvases, recontextualizing them to convey different moods and possibilities. I named the exhibit “Alchemy of Rust” to describe a slow process of change but also to reflect on the changes I experienced over the long arc of this creative process.