Will Jackson

Retrieving Rest

On a cosmic scale, ours is not a story of rest. It is a journey of innovative and inevitable change. Nothing is ever wasted. Form gives way to form. Change ensures success. Existence prevails. And our story continues. The full history of resources like wood, metal or stone, can convey limitless meaning. They have lived countless lives. They are our first valuable “stuff”. So much of what we have become is tied to these materials. We owe them our survival. What they are. What they have been. What they can become. To celebrate them is to celebrate us. 

As time unfolds, our relationship with resources continues to change. The desire to collect has proliferated and value has been diluted. Materials no longer resonate with the same worth they once held. With this realization, I suggest that mourning this loss be replaced with redefining this relationship. There is a grace that comes with transformation. Beauty can be found in the checks and balance of imperfection. Scars tell a story and being held together or supported allows opportunity for rest. 

This work reflects my effort to redeem some lost heroes. To remember their worth and honor their infinite journey. The resources that got us here. The materials that taught us to adapt, to invent, to prevail. A fallen tree becomes a monument. My hope is that in honoring this in my work, I will be closer to finding it in my daily life.