Dimensions: 144×16×15"

Materials: Wool, wax, clay, foam, acrylic paint, wire, paper, sand, tea, recycled aluminum, resin

2026

When I was doing research for my first rooted dandelion piece (“Putting Down Roots”) I learned that dandelion taproots can grow over 10 feet deep. They access – and bring to the surface–  nutrients buried at depths that other plants can't reach. They can grow from seeds carried by the wind, or regrow from as little as an inch of taproot left in the ground. I have always loved dandelions, but learning about their methods of survival and resilience created a strong sense of connection for me. Their tenacity in the face of arbitrary vilification reflects the experiences of many in the current environment. As a disabled person, I exist in a world that tells me I’m not what’s meant to be here – a weed in the social garden. Our immigrant neighbors are experiencing violent uprooting by agents of the federal government. We rely on deep connections to our communities to keep us going in these situations.

It is difficult to picture the magnitude of something extending 10 feet below us. I can picture 10 feet up, but 10 feet down gets much more abstract. I wanted to make the massiveness of the dandelion root tangible, to highlight this mammoth anchor through the earth. Thus, the concept of this piece was born. It took three years on-and-off of experimenting with materials to overcome the engineering challenges, making “My Roots are Deeper Than They Can Dig” the most recent work in this collection. It participates in the dialogue with “(de)composed” and “I Cannot Be a Meal, But I Can Be a Garden,” both embracing the outcast and making visible the unseen.