Urban Tides Statement

Identity is both essential and enigmatic. Theories of mind and body, time and space, consciousness, and narrative continuity all influence philosophers’ accounts of personal identity. While there are many competing models, there is a consistent need to address the relationship between the physical and mental aspects of human experience - how internal thoughts and emotions come into contact with external forces and stimuli. My interest lies in the surface of this intersection.

On the human body, skin is the horizon line between desire and reality. Psychological impulses are subtly manifested on the surface of one’s body. In an analogous case the shelters people create as homes and places of work become the point of contact between the external environment and the families, organizations, or institutions people form. Buildings, like bodies are at the intersection of belief and actuality. The character of a city, its identity as a unique place, is revealed in the surface of its structures.