My intention is to give recognition to our shared humanity.  The house image,  says that we're all in this together in "our world,"  despite whatever differences we might experience due to geography.  This show is really about empathy through metaphor. From my calculations there are 252 countries,  territories,  and dependencies on the planet.  That number seems to vary depending on whose figures you use,  but it's close.  This installation,  which I have been working on since 2002,  will be,  in part,  made up of 75 house paintings that are representative of all these places on the globe.  My numbering system for these houses are from 1 to 252.  Again, it's the metaphor for our whole world. So when I started out on the project,  I wasn't sure how the house images would evolve.  I didn't want to be architecturally specific,  giving the impression of a certain area of the world,  because my message is that at our core,  we're all just regular people who want the same things in life:  shelter,  food,  good health,  a long life,  love,  family,  safety.  You know,  it's Maslow's hierarchy of needs,  basically.  So,  happily,  the houses took their own direction as I began working  -  each one with its own personality,  yet sharing aspects as a whole.