Project: STIHLBACK is a digital art series celebrating a transformative chapter in one of my best friends, Kyle Kersnar’s life. He began as a member of a trail restoration crew in the mountains of Montana, eventually becoming a crew leader wielding a chainsaw to repair and protect the land. That experience became a catalyst for his growth, as he has since stepped into a new role as a tour guide in Alaska, leading boat tours, sharing knowledge of the land, and even writing original songs to perform around a campfire. He is truly on his way to park rangership.  I see this series as a tribute not just to his success, but to the process of becoming. 

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          Originally, I planned to focus primarily on glitching natural landscapes to question reality—exploring the “veil” of nature through techniques like data-moshing and simulated digital corruption, playing with the idea of a “matrix” or simulation. As the project evolved, it became more personal. The chainsaw silhouette emerged as a recurring symbol: both a tool of destruction and restoration. By repeatedly shifting images across multiple software platforms, distorting, compressing, re-layering, and re-glitching them; mirrored the iterative process of growth itself. 

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          I also considered the presentation as part of the artwork, designing the online gallery layout to enhance the immersive, almost cosmic atmosphere. What began as an exploration of glitch aesthetics became a meditation on transformation, labor, and memory. I believe the work successfully communicates resilience and momentum. If I were to continue the series, I would push the interactive elements further, allowing viewers to “glitch” the environment themselves, participating in the cycle of falling and rising, destruction and restoration. It was a pleasure to create in commemoration of my buddy's success, and even better sharing it with him.