Artist Statement
Oftentimes, as humans, we disregard the fact that life and living things are all around us. We default categorize the spectrum of nature as “the other" and then take advantage, manipulating the organism for personal, economic and commercial growth. We aren't very sneaky in our earth shattering methods either. Most frequently, the matter we demand from these “other” communities leads to our own demise, polluting our own living space and disposing of unused products we thought we needed. I have become fixated on the social, biological, public and personal implications of what an animal actually is.
My current work exhibits three main divisions of exploration: the first revolves around time as it exists on a chronological timeline. We often think of our lives as our past and present, but what about the future? That is as much a part of your chronological timeline as anything else. I chose to focus on the idea of timelines of life from beginning to end rather than momentary interactions. When we still have a long future ahead of us there are so many unknowns, purposeful or not which impact the future. Some of these timelines become entangled in other shorter timelines which forces the viewer to take a step back to consider the larger context and reflect on their own impacts on the lives of others. The second exploration is affiliated with how an animal is defined through social standards. For example, some humans believe that other humans are animals, while other humans believe that we are equal to all other beings in nature. And lastly, how an animal is defined through biological standards, for example, at what point is a cell or cluster of cells considered to be a living entity, and when is it too late to terminate a pregnancy?
These themes are manifested through sculpture, digitally manipulated images and distorted and dreamlike imagery within video animations. Objects such as clocks, eggs and flowering plants appear frequently in my work and are metaphors for the beginning of timelines or signaling the end of a timeline. While imagery of raw, hanging meat and awkward interactions or jesters leave the viewer feeling uncomfortable but yet wanting more.
My current work exhibits three main divisions of exploration: the first revolves around time as it exists on a chronological timeline. We often think of our lives as our past and present, but what about the future? That is as much a part of your chronological timeline as anything else. I chose to focus on the idea of timelines of life from beginning to end rather than momentary interactions. When we still have a long future ahead of us there are so many unknowns, purposeful or not which impact the future. Some of these timelines become entangled in other shorter timelines which forces the viewer to take a step back to consider the larger context and reflect on their own impacts on the lives of others. The second exploration is affiliated with how an animal is defined through social standards. For example, some humans believe that other humans are animals, while other humans believe that we are equal to all other beings in nature. And lastly, how an animal is defined through biological standards, for example, at what point is a cell or cluster of cells considered to be a living entity, and when is it too late to terminate a pregnancy?
These themes are manifested through sculpture, digitally manipulated images and distorted and dreamlike imagery within video animations. Objects such as clocks, eggs and flowering plants appear frequently in my work and are metaphors for the beginning of timelines or signaling the end of a timeline. While imagery of raw, hanging meat and awkward interactions or jesters leave the viewer feeling uncomfortable but yet wanting more.
BFA Project Statement
Abstract
We are in dire need of innovation in our meat industry. For years, thousands of researchers and scientists have been telling us that we need to cut down on our meat consumption by a recommended 90% to preserve the planet for future generations. But, the meat industry is continuing to expand at a rapid rate due to increased demand, especially in developing countries. There are three main reasons why the meat industry needs to change for future generations: pollutants and contribution to climate change, global health, and global malnutrition/ hunger. While there are still many unknowns, cultured meat has been proposed as a viable way to change what people are given to consume. Infatuated by this concept, I have chosen to interactively present pros and cons of the implication of cultured meat to educate the audience and allow them to form their own opinion on cultured meat in its beginning stage.
Project Description
Our current meat industry is not sustainable for a growing population. Throughout the past decade, the concept of an alternative meat source has begun to emerge as a viable possibility for the future of the meat industry. Cultured meat is meat that still comes from animal cells but is grown in large vats in a lab setting rather than a once living animal. In theory, if implemented world wide as the predicted 40% of our meat source by 2050, there would be many economic and resource related positive changes. For starters, we would be able to dedicate more land that was once used for cattle to growing other crops and water sources would have less contaminants. Not to mention that far less animals are slaughtered, 100% of the yield can be utilized, the risk of outbreak and the need for vaccinations against the flu are reduced. Ultimately, this product could lead to reduced world hunger.
Unfortunately, much of the population worldwide is unaware that there are some major flaws in the meat industry so there is no reason or incentive to change their current eating habits. There has been extensive research on how to present cultured meat as appetizing to consumers and ultimately convince them to choose cultured meat over conventional meat products.
The goal of my project is to visually present some of these pros and cons to educate the audience. This allows them to make their own educated decision on their opinion of cultured meat. I will put together an immersive exhibition for the audience to experience with all five senses. The experiencer will walk through a hallway-like space with massive meat like structures covered by plastic on either side of them. As they walk past these structures they will enter a space that has a trough on one side and a research desk on the other side. If the trough is looked into the viewer will see a bloodbath with a video projection in it. The bloodbath is jello which fills the room with a cherry candy scent playing into the dichotomy of “fake” meat. The research desk will contain both a microscope and a glassware laboratory set up. This location will contain the series “Postcards from a Dying World” viewed under the microscope and in the glass vials.
We are in dire need of innovation in our meat industry. For years, thousands of researchers and scientists have been telling us that we need to cut down on our meat consumption by a recommended 90% to preserve the planet for future generations. But, the meat industry is continuing to expand at a rapid rate due to increased demand, especially in developing countries. There are three main reasons why the meat industry needs to change for future generations: pollutants and contribution to climate change, global health, and global malnutrition/ hunger. While there are still many unknowns, cultured meat has been proposed as a viable way to change what people are given to consume. Infatuated by this concept, I have chosen to interactively present pros and cons of the implication of cultured meat to educate the audience and allow them to form their own opinion on cultured meat in its beginning stage.
Project Description
Our current meat industry is not sustainable for a growing population. Throughout the past decade, the concept of an alternative meat source has begun to emerge as a viable possibility for the future of the meat industry. Cultured meat is meat that still comes from animal cells but is grown in large vats in a lab setting rather than a once living animal. In theory, if implemented world wide as the predicted 40% of our meat source by 2050, there would be many economic and resource related positive changes. For starters, we would be able to dedicate more land that was once used for cattle to growing other crops and water sources would have less contaminants. Not to mention that far less animals are slaughtered, 100% of the yield can be utilized, the risk of outbreak and the need for vaccinations against the flu are reduced. Ultimately, this product could lead to reduced world hunger.
Unfortunately, much of the population worldwide is unaware that there are some major flaws in the meat industry so there is no reason or incentive to change their current eating habits. There has been extensive research on how to present cultured meat as appetizing to consumers and ultimately convince them to choose cultured meat over conventional meat products.
The goal of my project is to visually present some of these pros and cons to educate the audience. This allows them to make their own educated decision on their opinion of cultured meat. I will put together an immersive exhibition for the audience to experience with all five senses. The experiencer will walk through a hallway-like space with massive meat like structures covered by plastic on either side of them. As they walk past these structures they will enter a space that has a trough on one side and a research desk on the other side. If the trough is looked into the viewer will see a bloodbath with a video projection in it. The bloodbath is jello which fills the room with a cherry candy scent playing into the dichotomy of “fake” meat. The research desk will contain both a microscope and a glassware laboratory set up. This location will contain the series “Postcards from a Dying World” viewed under the microscope and in the glass vials.
