This project materialised through a nonlinear process of observing, reading, listening, conceptualising, and rethinking how I design as a custodian of this environment.
During this process, I had to shift between perspectives to develop a more holistic understanding of environmental systems—focusing on interrelationships, patterns of change, and wholeness rather than isolated parts. This way of thinking informed the multifaceted agave pieces, named in response to the agave plant’s life cycle: a plant that lives for 10–30 years, produces a single flower, and then dies, allowing new saplings to grow around it and continue the cycle.
The individual blocks of the piece do not fit together conventionally, they do not mirror one another, and they do not form a linear pattern. These pieces asks the viewer to consider different angles and perspectives. As I created the work, it became a kind of puzzle: I had to understand each block and consider how it might contribute to a “whole” rather than a “finished” form, acknowledging the ongoing nature of materialisation. The facets appear repeated and mirrored, yet each remains unique, forming a pattern that reflects cyclical change.
I created each element spontaneously after drawing a design web of words. After cutting out many pieces, I sanded them, drilled holes in whichever directions felt suitable for each form, and oiled them. Only once all the components were made did I determine how they could be assembled into a complete string. This nonlinear process reflects systems thinking and acknowledges how my dwelling in this place continues to manifest in my making.