ARTIST STATEMENT:

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The width of a single scale on a Monarch butterfly’s wing is 50 nano-meters. The distance that a Monarch butterfly migrates every year is 3,000 miles.

 

My interests lie in how the smallest of systems contribute to a wider network. Through the lens of the kingdom Arthropoda I explore how some of the tiniest, most complex species in the world are woven into larger, environmental schemes.

 

The representation of biological systems and feedback loops are cleanly defined within the context of scientific textbooks. The semiotics of graphs, diagrams and data tables organize the natural world into quantitative arrangements. However, some aspects of the natural world are impossible to capture within the page of a textbook. 

 

One cannot quantify the fragility of a dragonfly’s wing or capture the emotional appreciation of the vibrancy of a lanternfly’s coloration though a numerical valuation. The excitement of watching a butterfly emerge from the confines of a chrysalis is challenging to experience through a labeled diagram. 

 

My artwork is inspired by the duality of these systems: where science ends and human sentiments begin. Human interaction within nature can be direct and linear, or layers removed. I seek to emphasize the capacity of humans to interrupt and distort these fragile networks.