Agave

In Aztec history, agave is a symbol of good health, passion, and transformation. Native to Mexico and the American southwest, agave thrives in the hot, dry desert. Various species can be five inches or as large as 10 feet wide. They are both rigid and supple, with blues and greens integrating like watercolor on soft paper. Their threatening, sharp-tipped, fibrous leaves store water and are protected from evaporation by a waxy coating.

In my own mind and mythology, agave are emblematic of the 15 years I spent living in the Sonoran desert. A symbol of both youth and danger, their colors are reminiscent of the seaside where I was brought up. I remember many times looking out on the expansive desert, and thinking of the experience of sitting by the sea. These images of the pallet created by these majestic plants thus offer a minimalist integration of those conflated experiences of place.