Hurricane Sally

Artist statement

This work was created in response to the tornadoes and destruction that accompanied Hurricane Sally along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Made from black walnut trees brought down during the storm, the sculpture reflects both physical devastation and emotional resilience. Its vertical, vortex-like form suggests the force and instability of a tornado, while the embedded metal elements recall the debris that was hurled through the air. In Mobile, a historic railroad town, storm damage scattered industrial fragments across the landscape, and that reality became part of the language of this piece.

Layers of translucent resin are placed between layers of wood, creating a quiet but important contrast. The resin symbolizes light passing through darkness, suggesting hope, endurance, and the possibility of renewal even in moments of upheaval. While the work emerges from destruction, it does not remain there. Instead, it transforms fallen material and storm memory into an object of reflection, balancing violence and recovery, chaos and form.