Photographic Works > Burr Oak Acorns

For naturalists, acorns are an important aspect of an oak tree’s ability to reproduce and are an essential food source for fauna in southwestern Ohio. Since 2009, I have found myself gathering acorns that have strong anthropomorphic qualities. These specimens of the bur oak tree were found on the ground during walks around my neighborhood. The act of gleaning the acorns is both a physical act of gathering what has fallen and a mental process of finding meaning and value to something at one’s feet. I assign personalities to these nuts and create photographic portraits from that which I have collected. I collect them not for their scientific, nutritional or reproductive potential but for their ability to mimic a likeness of someone's face.