Meet Our Illumine Artists: Brooks Garcia

We’re pleased to announce Brooks Garcia as one of our Illumine 2023 artists. Read his interview below to hear more about Brooks’ inspiration and background as an artist.

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What have been some of your biggest influences as an artist?

Nature is my biggest inspiration. Gardening has a huge influence on my life, it is my calling, my passion, my obsession.

Can you talk a little bit about what inspired your proposed installation for this year? And in what ways do you see your piece speaking to this year’s Illumine theme: trees?

I am spiritual. Some even call me a witch. So, the ‘other realm’ fascinates me, as do cemeteries. I played in a cemetery as a child. I worked at Oakland for eight years, and I am presently working in another cemetery in Clarkesville, Georgia. My piece is a representation/allegory of this fascination with what is beyond and considers the question, “can we still communicate with those who are gone?” The bare branches in the flora piece represent death. The arrangement is in a faux bois container which was a popular motif in the Victorian era. Notice the faux bois benches all around Oakland? I was instrumental in getting those.

What can viewers expect when visiting, observing, and interacting with your piece? 

I would hope the visitors, by looking at this piece, would consider the possibility of communicating with the beyond and question their beliefs surrounding this topic. It brings to mind our own mortality.