Whist creating a previous artwork entitled The Enchanment of the Anthropocene, cyborg-like creatures began to emerge, seemingly willing themselves into the painting and the narrative. It’s therefore been a foregone conclusion that these creatures would evolve into sculpture prototypes.
I am reading a lot about Darwin’s Decent with Modification which states that humans – and all other species for that matter – were not created by some pre-ordained design, but rather as a result of a series of random modifications.
The human body contains non-human micro-organisms that outnumber human cells by 10 to 1. In this way, some philosophers and Scientists liken the human species to a cyborg of sorts – an assemblage of both human and non-human parts. This is where my idea of the addition of ‘creatures’ into my art comes from.
Species as assemblage mean that the human body (and other species and non-species) could have turned out in different ways than the way we see them today.
Possibly in a parallel dimension, living species could look like the creatures found in this painting. The creatures represent a Post-Humanist view that argues against the idea of Anthropocentrism.
I draw inspiration from sculptor Bruno Catalano’s body of work entitled ‘Les Voyageurs’ depicting figures with large pieces of their body missing. This speaks to the feelings of emptiness, restlessness, lack or un-belonging that when moving to a new place – a familiar theme for our curious and adventurous species.
The beaked face hints at the plague masks of the 1600s. It is a jibe at the human species’ arrogance (anthropocentrism), always thinking they know what’s best.
Debbie New 