Exiled Queen of Kudzu,2012. Kudzu vines, performance. Hambidge, Rabun Gap, Georgia. The kudzu vine was imported from Japan in the 50s and widely planted along highways in an attempt to prevent erosion. It grew so well that it quickly took over vast swaths of the southern landscape, covering all in its path – houses, trees, roads...  I decided to work with kudzu, a material both maligned and plentiful, while on a residency in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia. I struggled with the vines –an uncomfortable balance of working intuitively and being thwarted at every turn trying first to fashion the vines into a swing (daily rains dampened that plan) then a shelter (again would only be a home for spiders & birds).  Finally I realized that the only solution was to wear my struggles and refigured it into a dress.  Thus robed, and with a kudzu crown, I became the Exiled Queen of Kudzu, unwanted and uncomfortable, and toured the grounds of Hambidge before casting the dress off into the woods.