Rebecca Potts: Projects

Recent Projects

Glacial Melt.
Glaciers are melting in Glacier National Park and all over the world. By 2030, it is estimated that Glacier National Park will be without glaciers. This landscape is changing mainly because of global warming and these changes have far-reaching implications. I focus on representing the change that is taking place without directly discussing its causes, while making its implications more personal.

Altering landscapes and creating new worlds.
Using wood grain as an image similar to topographic lines, I am creating new maps. I collage pieces of existing maps onto wood panels and use the wood grain to continue drawing the map. I also print wood grain and draw into the prints to create map images. These quasi-maps can be read as real maps that navigate space, but the space they represent does not actually exist. I'm also exploring building my 2-D work into 3-D and thinking about different topographies: the actual topography of the art object vs. the drawn reference to a bigger topographical landscape. I'm introducing miniature people, trees, and objects into these landscapes and presenting them as horizontal planes that reference both the fantastical (board games like Risk) and the tragic (war strategy models).

Share the road.
In St. Louis there are "share the road" signs placed periodically on some of the streets. In my opinion there are not nearly enough of these nor are there enough bike lanes. It's too dangerous to bike on some streets so bikers are forced to the crowded, cracked sidewalks. I took it upon myself to put up more "share the road" signs along two streets that I frequent. I also map the neighborhood that I deal with on a daily basis, mainly via bike. By recording the events and mishaps of my daily commutes, I purge some of the frustration of living in a city not meant for bikers.

Geographic geneology.
Researching the history of the place where my mom grew up, Webster Groves, Missouri. Using maps to trace the history of the land and the neighborhood.

Transportation, Motion, Paths we build.
Thinking about how people move around on the land, the roads we build, and the way we navigate them. Driving has become a part of my life again, which connects me to oil, war, etc. Yet, despite these negative connections, highway interchanges and road systems are aesthetically interesting as constructions of human movement in space.

Minimal maps.
Creating simple beautiful images based on topographic lines and map conventions. Using both natural and manmade materials in each piece, such as sand with industrial paint or wood with vinyl.