Wendy Given. With a production of vivid, uncanny contemporary photography, drawing, sculpture and installation, my practice stems from a profound interest guided by nature, history, folklore, myth and magic—magic as a term meant to conjure the notion of the interconnectedness of all life forces. My work also possesses a keen sensibility in observing, documenting and seamlessly merging the natural with the otherworldly. Nature is prescribed as a foundation of power, verity and mystery in the work—both intelligible and arcane. I give significant credence to the animal kingdom, minerals, plants, earth, water and sky—the known (the familiar), the unknown and the essential. These ancient and sentient entities carry innate unspoken cues that continue to inform pivotal roles within modern life and art. My work is not fantasy pastiche merely referencing antiquated belief systems and iconographies, nor is it basic field documentation. I am constructing a current and substantial visual mode in order to reveal the ironies implicit in desiring a life within society where one can continue to be ruled by the unexplainable and retain a deep, unmoving respect and awe of nature and our environment. I purvey highly crafted images and objects that resonate in the dark, unstable ground between consciousness and collective memory. While my subject matter dwells on primeval belief systems, the resulting constructions and installations are distinctively contemporary—reflective of modern culture’s mode of assimilating and processing myth. Upon careful observation, the images and sculptures I construct are overtly multifaceted, providing a lively host for the engagement of lush, multilayered narratives. Most importantly, my visual craft conveys an intense yearning to honor and utilize our inherent awareness—to regain unspoken understanding and to be conscientious of the fact that we are all, and always will be (as humans), integral to and dependent on the natural world.