In this City of Chicago commission, I explore the relationships between memory, nature and place, as it relates especially to the community of Portage Park. Scenes of prairie, woods and marshlands evoke Portage Park’s early history. The diver and pools refer to the park’s special history, which includes Olympic trials in 1959. The architectural fragments are inspired by buildings around “Six Corners”, an early and lasting economic center in the area. The smaller works pair a squirrel or a cardinal with an architectural fragment. They commemorate wildlife living among the original Native American inhabitants and its adjustment to the new urban landscape.

Variations in image size and order in the artworks simulate the capricious nature of memory, which can, in an instant, visit many times and places and emotions.