statement
oscar is an artist who was born and raised in the city of portland. through interest and anxiety they continue to create work under the oeuvre of city ecology, exploring our relationship to earth as represented by our built and extracted surroundings. utilizing the title of city ecologist places them as; researcher, participant, and/or neo-documentarian. making use of their interdisciplinary background, they can be found creating public performances, photographing detritus, or talking about the unjust separation in our vocabulary for humans and nature.
by highlighting the multitude of forms in which the world is connected, my work draws upon shared knowledge and experiences. relationships that build what we understand as the everyday.
how does the past life of a material inform a work?
in what ways is a collage more personal than a photograph?
at its core, my works are material studies. I do not want the viewer to be excluded from understanding how a work was made nor be distant from the fact that it was made. my first choice for materials is whatever is within reach—readily available materials. while they aren’t common in fine arts, they are familiar in our daily lives. having materials be removed from their typical use as a means to encourage interrogation of our daily lives.
how does cardboard construction relate to accessibility?
familiarity with material places the work itself into the outside world. asking where it came from, and where will it go.
how do ready-mades impact our ritual practices?
how does a casket made out of cinder blocks create dialogue between post-consumer waste aggregate and the cycle of life and death?
these moments of intervention—by me or any other actor—are explored to situate the work within time.