And The Wise Soil Smiles explores the legacy of a single stone, located on a walking trail in the desert landscape. The stone stands as a constant witness to the shared, historic engagement of the trail, repeatedly traversed by a diverse cast of characters. Inspired by classic animation, the characters serve as a visual language of the diversity of time and culture that have, are, and will journey over the trail. The action of tripping represents our shared vulnerability and the impermanence of our existence. Perhaps, the collective precariousness of our species’ condition can be embraced as a discovery point for a common purpose.
The work conveys a collapse of time and space by layering the walking characters in translucent echos that recognize the past and future of the terrain, while the present is occurring. The shifting landmarks in the background are built and rebuilt in a shared location, eliminating hierarchies of importance and time, creating a recognized balance of all cultures that have been, are, and will be. Both the stone and trail are symbolic of the landscape as a record keeper of time and activity. Though these events may only be recorded in the history of the soil, the continuity of a shared location creates historical meaning. The stone and trail remember the narratives while existing as a constant of the landscape, in a world of unprecedented change.
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