Rapid prototype seismogram from the Japanese Earthquake.
Source: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/blog/dyn/28058/a-negative-garden-of-eden/
Belgian artist Kris Verdonck presents some of the strongest work I've seen in a while- maybe I find it compelling because of its marriage of installation art and ecology- but then, I've always been a fan of immersing the viewer in a challenging environment.
Verdonck filled a gallery space with Belgian's most notorious invasive species (non-native species which flourish under alien conditions, killing off the native biodiversity. Think Maryland's snakehead fish or bamboo problems.) Flora and fauna include grasses, trees, birds, amphibians, and other species.
From Architizer:
Visitors were invited to put on protective suits and traipse through the garden, hyper aware that even the smallest seed or animal cannot be allowed to escape the premises. Drastically changed by its contents, the first floor of the gallery suddenly became a space of quarantine, defined by its duty to enclose and keep out. The protective clothing and the eventual complete destruction of the installation were both crucial to the work as a whole.
Like many of Verdonck’s other installations, EXOTE is a critical reflection on the current state of the world. The artist magnifies our current environmental problems and ecological disasters with a Kafka-esque metaphor, constructing a sealed microcosm of a world that is shaped by man and slowly becoming uninhabitable. Verdonck’s installation turned a bare contemporary art space into an apocalyptic landscape.
Belgian artist Kris Verdonck presents some of the strongest work I've seen in a while- maybe I find it compelling because of its marriage of installation art and ecology- but then, I've always been a fan of immersing the viewer in a challenging environment.
Verdonck filled a gallery space with Belgian's most notorious invasive species (non-native species which flourish under alien conditions, killing off the native biodiversity. Think Maryland's snakehead fish or bamboo problems.) Flora and fauna include grasses, trees, birds, amphibians, and other species.
From Architizer:
Visitors were invited to put on protective suits and traipse through the garden, hyper aware that even the smallest seed or animal cannot be allowed to escape the premises. Drastically changed by its contents, the first floor of the gallery suddenly became a space of quarantine, defined by its duty to enclose and keep out. The protective clothing and the eventual complete destruction of the installation were both crucial to the work as a whole.
Like many of Verdonck’s other installations, EXOTE is a critical reflection on the current state of the world. The artist magnifies our current environmental problems and ecological disasters with a Kafka-esque metaphor, constructing a sealed microcosm of a world that is shaped by man and slowly becoming uninhabitable. Verdonck’s installation turned a bare contemporary art space into an apocalyptic landscape.
If you ever want to get me a present, anything from this design store would be perfect. I found their work during Artscape and have been jonesing for their science series ever since. Visit their site for more work.
To protect Nature from its Environment- separation between content and place; displacement.
Wardian cases were originally founded in the mid 1800's by an English doctor named Nathaniel Ward. His enthusiasm for his plant specimen fueled his innovation for the custom built case that eventually became know as the Wardian Case. He noticed that his plants thrived in this environment and also experimented with rearing butterflies and moths inside his cases.
I'm noticing this movement in blogging, photography, and Vimeo films- craftsmen profiles. Since when is working with your hands such a bad thing? Grain & Gram:
http://grainandgram.com/theexchange/
http://grainandgram.com/theexchange/
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