Animal Cyborgs

My work draws on the rich cultural and mythological histories of animals to create a new language about our relationships with nature and each other. The work is intended to elicit visceral reactions in the viewers, and to raise questions about human nature. Some animals generate feelings of fear, others of warmth and companionship. By pairing them with physical representations of human emotions, such as loneliness and the desire to belong, I create stories about individuality and humanity.
A visual and tactile vocabulary is shaped through the use of various modern materials. The direct connections of hard resin to soft cast rubber surfaces reference the human body and the physical form’s connection to machines and technology. The use of auto body lacquer and other brightly colored paints is indicative of our culture of mass production and love of flashy objects. Material choices also contribute to the spectacle aspect of the hybrids. As with freaks of nature or highway accidents, these oddities draw a crowd; excited yet horrified of what is possible.
With the choice of artificial materials composing organic animal form, I am both glorifying and negating nature. By transforming animals into objects, I am addressing the coexistence of our fascination with and exploitation of them. We love them, but we destroy them. We admire their primality, but we try to control them.
This work visually addresses the bipolar disposition of humanity towards nature, whether that is internal or external.