Chimney, Cloud, and Pine Branch
2023 Spring
Individual Study
Chimney, Cloud, and Pine Branch is inspired by the power plant that stands outside my window along the Charles River. Its constant presence serves as a quiet reminder of how large-scale infrastructure is woven into everyday life. The steady release of smoke rings from the chimney, seen against the pine branch beside my bed, sparked the creation of two drawings that move between lived reality and imagined landscape.
In one drawing, the pine branch appears in the foreground of the distant chimney, anchoring personal space within an industrial environment. In the other, the scene shifts into a dreamlike transformation, where the branch expands into a dense pine forest that gradually covers the chimneys and drifting smoke. This visual shift reflects a tension between extraction and regeneration, raising questions about the relationship between infrastructure, climate, and ecological futures.
The work approaches infrastructure not as a neutral background, but as a carrier of collective and personal memory. Chimneys, clouds, and energy landscapes become cultural symbols that shape how we understand weather, geography, and civic life. By reframing industrial forms through intimate observation and imagination, the project invites viewers to reconsider their shared relationship with the systems that power contemporary society.
Draft Study
Infrastructure and daily life
Drawings
