This piece employs a technique of applying chemicals to copper leaf that erode it, leaving behind a blue-green patina. The imagery explores the dichotomy of escapism from and connection to ourselves and to nature. The figure of a woman evokes mythological overtones, surrounded by seaweed motifs formed by copper leaf. They are Bull Kelp, the latin for which is Nereocystis (Greek for “mermaid’s bladder”) which are native to my own surroundings on the BC coast. The woman is experiencing a deep connection to nature as her hands entwine the copper seaweed. We wish to connect with nature on it’s own terms, but often humanity inevitably bends nature to our will, extracting its resources and exploiting it for our own means. We long to be our true selves, and yet we bend and erode our true nature to conform to societies pressures.