invasive species (butomus umbellatus), invasive species (lymantria dispar: asian gypsy moth), invasive species (schinus molle) 2008
Ink on Vellum, each 11 x 8.25"
Invasive Species considers the issue of loss due to the introduction of foreign species of insect, fungus, plant, and pathogens. Environmental change in the public discourse has largely been focused on industry and urban sprawl. What of the loss accelerated through the introduction of natural factors via globalization (trade) and climate change (the alteration of migration patterns and temperature changes promoting ideal climates for foreign species to thrive.)
Precipitates began as an investigation into the apparent over population of bull kelp in the near-shore waters of British Columbia. Was there a causal relationship between global warming, rising sea temperatures, the loss of coastal environments and the prima facie abundance of bull kelp in the northern Pacific waters? On the contrary, bull kelp forest populations, with their preference for cold water conditions, will be adversely affected by the rising sea temperatures associated with global warming. The species, however, thrive in carbon dioxide rich environments, and the presence of higher levels of carbon dioxide could very well offset some of the negative impacts of increased water temperatures. These contradictory connections between cause and effect speak to the complex relationships between action and consequence, specific ecosystems and the environment as a whole.
Second Order Consequences is a current in process project developed from collected research on climate, the theory of differentiation, and evolution. The drawings and mixed media works explore memory in terms of cryoturbation (organic material that is slowly pushed below the surface of the active layer [ice] existing for ages in a state of suspended animation) and second-order consequences. The consequences of humans on the environment are exponential: we produce/use, the environment shifts significantly, species ways of life alter, the language we use is forced to adapt. These varied topics all lead to an inquiry into familiar sites and memory, specifically the environment and human biology.
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