41 - Melissa Mohammadi - Autotelic Atmosphere

16" x 16" 

Carved lines in watercolor panel

My practice explores the evidence of the formal physical properties and transformations of plants, shells, fossils, sandworm colony remnants, forgotten vertebrae, and a range of landscapes. 

I begin by creating meticulously observed drawings and prints of these natural forms. Over time, my work evolves through a process of layering: as I excavate and combine images, each composition takes on the qualities of an embodied memory.

This meditative process slows my focus and teaches me how to grow, how to mother, how to endure. My resultant works on paper and panel are records of my gratitude and awe. They are an invitation to look closely and find respite in deep time.

My works range in size from 7 foot long, immersive watercolor and pastel botanical landscapes to compact prints and handheld, exquisitely cut and layered tunnel books. My visual language borrows in part from medieval manuscripts and tapestries that I studied as an assistant to a book conservator, during research travels in Europe and Turkey, and as a graduate student under the Byzantinist Annemarie Weyl Carr.

Through my practice, I explore our relationship with our non-human, earth-bound neighbors. I believe that a deep communion with these neighbors is how we embark on the journey of nature healing itself. I am drawing on layers of knowing and communication beyond the limitations of our various Umwelten (our unique sensory worlds), infusing my work with my excitement in the multiple realities we inhabit.