The Myth of The West.

In common vernacular, "myth" usually refers to a falsehood. However, the term is not so finely pointed and may rather indicate unifying truths.  Joseph Campbell points out that myths symbolically combine finite individuals with an enduring social order and that, psychologically, we organize our lives along mythic aims and laws.  Henry Nash Smith describes myth as an image created through the fusion of a concept and an emotion; myths are complex relationships of images, giving a purposeful framework in which history can occur.

Western Dust is based around the lives of my maternal relatives; stories of a pioneering past have assumed the quality of myth. Some works stretch out from intimate family tales, while others reach in from a broader expanse. Through various interweaving, I create a visual folklore that is both familial and national in scope.