A Life Abroad - Vignettes
Peephole Gallery, Alter Space 2013
In his youth, Marcus Kelli was a driven man but without purpose. He enjoyed exploring in nature and drawing, but thought himself little use to his society. His peers were obsessed with progress and machines as the rise of the industrial age was taking hold. Marcus felt lost within the smoke of the cities; his ambitions choked by the frantic nature of the new age.
Feeling the need to gain clarity in changing times Marcus planned a long term cave expedition, something he had never done- and he would do it alone. With no close family to object to his cause he descended into darkness. After successfully living alone and Marcus had a horrifying encounter with a strange creature that left him terrified and isolated in the cold black caverns. Beside himself with fear, Marcus fled his camp. No documentation of the cave’s location has yet to be found, keeping its mysteries intact.
What Marcus saw shook him to his core. After his encounter he rented a small room in a merchant town on the eastern coast, feeling confused and defeated. With so many questions in his mind regarding the strange creature he had seen in the cave, his ambitions naturally turned to a feverous self-study in the natural arts.
In 1838 he boarded a merchant vessel and set sail. The journey took nearly a year to sail around the tip of South American and up the coast until at last reaching California- welcoming Marcus with boundless rolling mountains and opportunity abound.
