In mid-2023 my brother sent me a souvenir from his travels, with an accompanying letter:

Hey Pal,

I found some Hand made

Silk from a village in

Norther Laos, it took 5 days to

make Hopefully it Reminds you

of Home a little too!

Lots of Love Ben

For weeks, I couldn’t stop thinking about his words, “hopefully it reminds you of home.” He was right; it does. But isn’t it strange? How can a foreign object, crafted by someone I’ve never met in a country I’ve never visited, feel so familiar?

Inspired by this thought and other questions posed by Established, Placed is a study of finding familiarity in the unknown. Eight of my own spatial experiences crafted by unknown individuals are investigated in (and between) conceptually layered lino prints. These unknown designers—whether architects, artists, or thinkers—are now inherently linked with me across time and space, through their creations. While their objects are personally familiar, their intent and identity remain enigmatic. Somehow, within this constellation of foreignness, identity has formed.