The two sides of one coin reconciling remembering and reminding those moments when ugliness and negativity gave rise to profound beauty. Conundrums of Expanding Compression was conceptualized during the summer of 2020 as I attempted to process our collective state of mind and emotional fragility during “Life in Covidia.” Social distancing was for some intolerable while for others a kind of gift. Social media induced a wellspring of anxiety but connected loved ones. A toxic political and social climate made many angry to the point of violence while others discovered new ways of experiencing the world that inspired hope. My world, our world, was certainly becoming smaller and meaner in many ways. But within this strange state of compression I began to breathe easier. I began to see that for all of the anger, fear, anxiety and grief - so visible, so analyzed, so argued over and claimed - there was often an equally beautiful and more expansive view to consider and hold dear.