A desire not to acknowledge an altered and changing ecosystem means denying the validity of what we do not know. Through my work I suggest that we spend time noticing our ecosystems. Further, that we acknowledge the beauty, danger and complexity of their current state in order to deal with their current and impending consequences.
The works that I make are active and performative- much like the potentials of human debris and plant matter. Works reveal themselves through time spent and small gestures of noticing. While they operate alone they are also meant to function within the context of a smaller series. Gestures, shapes, colors, textures echo throughout a series. Spending time noticing complicated relationships is important. What does it mean for a cloud to be soft and ethereal one moment and rigid and matte the next? What does it mean about the stuff we accumulate and the stuff that we leave behind?
Emily Lehman received an MFA from Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois in 2019, completed a year long post baccalaureate residency at Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA in 2015 and received a BA from Dickinson College in 2014.