Transformed Terrain (part 1)

I  relocated to Wilmington DE from the VA/DC area in 2018. My first exhibit (2019) in Wilmington, Transformed Terrain, was inspired by connections between an altered natural terrain and the people who change it directly or indirectly, from close by or from a distance, on purpose or unwittingly. Further inspiration comes from artist Rene Magritte who taught, “the apparent visible and the hidden visible…in nature are never separated.” My detailed ink collage drawings point to the seemingly invisible circle of life concealed throughout the Earth,  and act as metaphors for American culture and commerce.  Figures dominate some drawings and hide within others, yet they reveal associations that a viewer might not have noticed before. I pair nooses with mega-coal-mining equipment, angel’s wings with a nuclear power plant, and rubber duckies with live ducks. The fun in looking at these works is to discover connections between seemingly disparate entities.

Fracking-stein

I usually write about each piece in an exhibit and often combine the writing with images in books.  I have yet to do this with this series, but intend to do so in the coming weeks. Interestingly while I made the large drawings ten years ago, the themes they illustrate are alive and of great importance today. Last month I wrote here in the blog about fires raging in Australia.  This month I continue the fire theme.  As population increases worldwide to over 7 billion, the demand for fossil fuels also increases.  Those companies providing fuels are expert at extraction, often using a fracking technique that forces water and secret chemicals into the ground to force natural gas to the surface.  Immediate side effects are earthquakes and groundwater and well pollution.  As tankers and pipelines spill, living creatures in the web of life suffer and die to humanity’s detriment.

In this drawing, the clamp on humanity’s brain is fed by the fuel, which causes addiction, dependency and a craving for more.  The story of what extracted fuels, like coal, are doing to the earth is long and depressing, and the connection between fuel, humankind, flora and fauna of the planet is more and more obvious each day.  Perhaps I’ll think of a way to put windmills into the next picture as humankind tries to veer away from these fuels to solar, wind and wave production of electricity.

Standing Rock Sioux Fight the Dakota Pipe Line 2017

In this collage drawing, I used a ledger sheet, as some Native Americans did in the past, to show the meager resources the tribes have to fight pipelines on their territory today.  They resist because pipelines often break and poison the earth and water (which is why the city of Bismarck, ND did not want the pipeline near their area.)  Although the Sioux were assured there would be no breaks and environmental studies were truncated and rushed through, two breaks in this pipeline spilled 383,000 gallons of oil in 2019 just two years since its installation.

Imagery in this collage recalls the story of how the monster Unktehi attacked the tribe long ago.  Luckily the Great Spirit in the form of an eagle, saved them from the monster then.  Despite tribal protests and resistance, the pipeline companies are having their way while periodic pollution of the landscape continues. And the rest of us who are fed by the pipeline have our gasoline and natural gas.