Nurseries grow beautiful flowers. They have to be beautiful and perfect to sale.

I’m an artist whose reflections on my father’s death lead to an archaeological investigation of my own past. These memories are laced with mixed feelings about my family history and a tremendous pivot point in it. The now defunct Niven Nursery in Marin County once employed Latino migrant workers to cultivate its orchids. They faced dangerous working conditions without proper protection. After many years of service, my father was diagnosed with stomach cancer caused by prolonged exposure to pesticides. Lead, DDT and metal arsenic are still detectable in high levels in the soil under Niven.

My installations provide an ongoing excavation of this site. This deconstruction has revealed social, environmental and cultural issues illuminating the dangers facing migrant workers. I am haunted by the negligence shown by a consumer culture that would allow such intolerable conditions to exist in the pursuit of the perfect bloom. This investigation into my own past grew into an appreciation for Latino immigrants and the sacrifices they made for the promise of a better life.

I encapsulate these harrowing themes and dream-like images by merging photography, sculptural pieces, salvaged materials, and in the future, aural and tactile elements. I create a space that invites the viewer into a sensory environment that stirs up emotions of sadness, empathy, concern, understanding, and awareness. The same feelings I encountered in my own journey.