Sometimes, I like to imagine myself as a suburban housewife somewhere in the 1950’s, 60’s or 70’s. Someone worried about making a spot-on ice box cake, getting the living room photo-mural just so, having cocktail hour with special decanters for scotch and bourbon, and wearing a full skirt. The specific decade isn’t even important.

I’m also drawn to the material culture of hunting, outmoded representations of nature, vintage food packaging and craft books. These sources present an uncomplicated view of Nature, and construct a fraudulent, idealized role for women.

I see a dark edge in these seductively beautiful objects. The darkness comes from my belief that our relationship to Nature is flawed, and that the eras I pull from visually were rife with political and social inequities. The continued allure of vintage design and kitschy crafts creates doubt about how far we have come from hegemonic ideas about gender and ecology. Combining retro aesthetics and doubtful nostalgia allows a space for examining the disconnect between progress and history.