December 2019 and spring and summer of 2020 are full of events!
Anthropocene Blues: The Chimera
I have been very fortunate to receive invitations to The Studios of Key West artist residency (December 16, 2019-January 14, 2020) and Arquetopia in Puebla, Mexico February 16-March 17, 2020. I will be working on my series Anthropocene Blues during this time. There will be an exhibition of this work at The Museum of Nebraska Art in July. I recently purchased a UBEELINE tripod and ring light to make some time lapse pieces of my papercuts- head on over to my Instagram to check those out starting in December.
Anthropocene Blues: Nature and the Social Imagination explores the intersection of nature and culture through cut paper artworks. The simple act of cutting paper is a study in transformation, reducing visual information down to the essentials. In this medium, an outline alone can carry meaning and narrative. Cut paper practice carries incredible tension; a single mistake can compromise the entire architecture of a piece. Anthropocene Blues reflects this tension in its subject matter: portraits of the extinctions of species, threatened ecosystems, and the global decline of biodiversity. Research for Anthropocene Blues focuses on two specific animals: flying foxes in Australia and axolotls in Mexico. The flying fox plays an essential roles in its environment as a pollinator and seed dispersal. Its survival is proving essential for native forest regeneration in drought-ridden Australia. The axolotl is a charismatic species that draws attention to its unique freshwater lake ecosystem, which is under siege by pollution and invasive species. Currently there are more axolotls kept as pets than there are in the wild, underscoring human involvement in its rarity. Both the axolotl and the flying fox play an important part in each area’s cultural heritage, holding mythic and folkloric meaning to their respective indigenous communities.