July 06, 2017

JULY, 2017


Mary Addison Hackett, Sweeping in Wonder Valley, Amboy Road, Wonder Valley, California, July 6, 2017. [Photo by Meg Madison]


This past summer I relocated my home and studio to Joshua Tree, California. June was spent looking for a place to live and work. I purchased an average size parcel just large enough to engage with my immediate environment on a daily basis. Priorities have included home repairs and learning the ways of the desert. While painting has been a major part of my studio practice—video, writing, photography, and time-based works have become increasingly important as ways of communicating and interacting. Maintenance, both absurd and practical, has been a theme in my work for 25 years and the desert does not disappoint with regard to source material. The desert does not lend itself to being domesticated, and yet…

It's over.

Nov 7, 2020. Tears of joy and relief. It's been unreal and I'm ready to get back to a sense of normalcy. The desert has been tough.