I Was Here Series

An ongoing series the “I Was Here” body of work incorporates that very statement in several of the paintings along with use of symbols and hash marks, which have been used to count the days, or by scorekeepers and children playing games to keep tabs, all of which goes to the core of a very basic need to let someone know that we were here, or for recognition, acknowledgement, to be counted, and to count for something. Forcing the viewer to mentally repeat the statement is a reminder that s/he, too, counts. It’s a phrase that applies globally to all cultures and always will, as long as there are people. The same statement also applies to countless objects, actions, and events, such as the atomic bomb, bullets, footprints, glacier grooves, or grave sites that bear evidence of having been here.