Glacial Erratic

I became familiar with the peculiar geological term — Glacial Erratic — fairly recently. In 2021 during a residency at MacDowell, I stumbled across a field of scattered boulders nestled in the deciduous woodlands with its grounds. I later came to learn that these boulders were likely participants in this particular geological phenomenon — where boulders are transported over long distances and time by glacial flows. The boulders themselves — erratics (from errare: to wander) — were part of an ancient migration, and we encounter them today, out of place, outside of time.

It derives its identity from a process of movement, which had a powerful hold on me, both as an immigrant, as well as a traveler and architect who thinks about spatial experience through traversal. Seeing these larger than life forms, sitting stoically in the landscape, foreigners, and yet seemingly at home. I knew I had found some fellow spirits.

December 2025