Pilelands is a developing archive of piles (2016-ongoing).
This collection focuses on ephemeral landscapes; stockpiles, leftover materials, stored goods, and discarded waste. These sights are often found roadside and seemingly abandoned, whether for the time being or for much longer.
These assemblages of material manifest themselves into a natural focal point, often appearing monumental. The surrounding environments are usually diverse yet somewhat mundane; storefronts, parking lots, construction zones, backyards, sidewalks, and grassy fields.
This study began back in 2014. Decades prior, John Pfahl sought out the very same mundane scenes in his Piles series. Pfahl found piles that reminded him of the mountains he would visit on vacation out west. The coincidence of having moved to Buffalo, New York, only to discover a local artist who had made similar work years prior, reinforced the idea to continue my exploration of these forms in my own way while I lived and worked.
Western New York is a flat place that holds great beauty but lacks geographical elevation. I was homesick, and my daydreams of another place in the form of a pile were evident.
A pile can hint at change within the environment, or it could symbolize something to become.