“SIX HUNDRED TWELVE MILLION YEARS”
A six hundred twelve million year long story that captures the essence of evolutionary history, reconstructing a lost world that is informed by both an artistic and research driven lens.
The Slumbering Sea, Ediacaran 635 to 538 MYA Some of the first known life on Earth was Cyanobacteria, which grew to form microbial mats. By the Ediacaran Period at the end of the Proterozoic Eon, the seafloor was populated by Rangeomorphs: a type of seemingly sessile, frond-like biota shrouded in mystery. These early forms of complex multicellular life were attached to the microbial mats—their feeding habits and bodily systems still unknown.
The Rumbling Reef, Cambrian 538 to 485 MYA The Cambrian Period was marked by a mass diversification of complex life following changes to the seafloor. Gone were the days of serenity and in were the dangerous thrills of predation and competition. During this time, the first chordate appeared in the form of Pikaia: a small eel-like creature which possessed a notochord. From this creature arose all vertebrate life on Earth. Ordovician 485 to 443 MYA Following the Cambrian mass extinction, the Ordovician Period expanded the diversification of marine life with abundant reef ecosystems.
The Age of Fins and Feet, Silurian 443 to 419 MYA The Silurian Period marked the diversification of fishes, including the first known bony fish and numerous more species of jawed fish. This period also ended with the first recorded vascular plants on land. Devonian 419 to 358 MYA The “Age of Fishes” extended through the Devonian Period, which marked the journey of chordates to land. Lobe-finned fish eventually began to take on amphibious forms, which enabled the evolutionary transition to terrestrial tetrapods by the end of the Devonian Period.
The Armored Egg and Life on Land, Carboniferous 358 to 298 MYA Throughout the Carboniferous Period rainforests expanded and the rising oxygen levels gave rise to a multitude of large insects. Tetrapod life adapted to life on land, aided by the innovation of the cleodic egg. By the end of the period, amniotes had split into Sauropsids, including the first reptiles, and Synapsids, including protomammals. Permian 298 to 251 MYA The Permian Period was dominated by protomammals, which had grown in size and shape to fill a variety of ecological niches as life on land developed. The Permian Period and Paleozoic Era ended in The Great Dying: the largest known mass extinction, which wiped out the majority of all animal life, ending the rule of the protomammals.
The Ruling Reptiles, Triassic 251 to 201 MYA The Triassic Period was a desolate time, with much of the supercontinent Pangea consumed by desert. Archosaurs developed erect limb orientation, allowing for greater speed as they began to dominate the land. Two types of these Archosaurs—Pterosaurs and Dinosaurs—arose in the Triassic Period, but did not begin mass diversification until later on. In a world dominated by Archosaurs, protomammals began to occupy specific niches that allowed them to exist without competition, laying mostly dormant in these roles until the next era.
The Age of Plates and Plumes, Jurassic 201 to 145 MYA The Jurassic Period was a time dominated by the newly diversified dinosaurs, ranging from the largest sauropods to the smallest theropods. These specialized dinosaurs possessed a wide array of capabilities which allowed them to thrive in the humid forests. A certain group of theropods began to develop flight independently of their distant pterosaur cousins, which continued to dominate the skies.
The Crater of Petals, Cretaceous 145 to 66 MYA The Cretaceous Period continued the rule of dinosaurs, along with the first known appearance of angiosperms, or flowering plants. Ornithischian dinosaurs diversified further, including the prominent ceratopsian lineage. The period ended with the most famous mass extinction, most likely occurring when a celestial object collided with Earth. The aftermath of this event and possible others killed off virtually all sizable tetrapod life, including the non-avian dinosaurs.
The Garden of Mammalia, The Paleogene Period began in the desolation caused by the previous mass extinction. From the rubble, mammals underwent adaptive radiation, and began to fill the many niches left open by the death of the non-avian dinosaurs. Mammals like Pakicetus and the other first cetaceans began the return to sea, while Eohippus and the first equids grew in size and speed on land. Avian dinosaurs took to the sky, filling the gap left by the death of the pterosaurs.
The study of prehistory has always been about telling a story within individual data points of scientific truth, weaving them together into a believable narrative. With every year we uncover new truths about the past, and in pursuit of an objective reconstruction we create a fantasy world that never existed, often telling us more about the people who invented it than the moment in prehistory it depicts. I have set out to consciously engage in this practice, telling a story that captures the essence of evolutionary history in pursuit of reconstructing a version of a lost world that is informed by both an artistic and research driven lens. This collection follows evolutionary history between the Ediacaran and Paleogene periods, turning the into a set of looks that tell the story of life on Earth.
I think of my work as full body puppetry, where the garment imbues the wearer with a new persona that supersedes their own. I find both personal and artistic comfort in the ‘androgyny of the inhuman”. This often includes camouflaging of the body, disguising the face and creating a new one elsewhere. Rather than clothing on a human body, it reads as an individual character with its own personality.
Through dyeing and screen printing my own textiles, I use my illustrations as blocks of color to create intriguing palettes and eye-catching shapes. This allows me another way to explore my range of artistic interests and create pieces which tell an ongoing story that comes through at each level of making.
I learn through experimentation, which has led to a very interdisciplinary skillset and resourcefulness in managing to occupy a team’s worth of roles all on my own. I find a deep joy in each stage of creation, so to outsource any of it would feel like I was missing out on an opportunity to do something I love.
My creations are a tribute to the sciences, and I find it most satisfying when I can introduce those with a similar passion to a different world of the arts that they may never interact with. If I can get fashion people interested in science and science people interested in fashion, then thats a marker of success for me. My work fosters multi-layered engagement, where the intricate details within it are recognized by those informed on the subject matter, but a regular audience can also engage with it almost instantly. I cannot explain the entire Permian Great Dying or the Cambrian Explosion in an instant, but through visual storytelling and a unique character I can manifest millions of years of history and hundreds of pages of research into an absorbable experience.