UMLÄUT 2020 - THE PANDEMIC ISSUE
ZOOM
Sequoia Hack
“Zoom” has come to be an overused, repetitive word over the past three months; its meaning dried out to summarize a technological bridge allowing human interaction in times where face to face contact has become outlawed. It is in human nature to crave presence, to want to feel and experience and bask in the enrichment that social acts provide. I wanted to “zoom” out from this narrow-minded interpretation of such an innovative word and reconnect to its meaning humanity and nature rather than technology.
I saw myself in a planetarium show as I was building this piece. I flipped through magazines for hours, crisp, juicy colors stretching wings, claws, and fins out to me. I felt like I was living in the world once again, witnessing iguanas and crows leap across pages. The Golden Gate Bridge, perhaps the most recognizable monument in our region, to remind me of my home. Bright citrus, delicate ivory petals, pulsating jellyfish, and a dog’s leathery snout, to illuminate the life forms alongside who we share the bounties of Mother Earth. A sequoia redwood, my namesake, poised in the foreground, its underside lit up by a torch, to ground me to my roots.
By creating this piece, I felt as if I took a tour of the world, through lush jungles and swirling ice caps, through marine waters and towering canyons. I renewed the original meaning of the word “zoom” by purposely diving deep into exploration of nature. The elements of our world that humans didn’t create are commonly shrouded in darkness behind the boulder of humanity. I made this piece to demonstrate the profound nature of life that is impossible to capture through a computer screen.
