A Different Type of Wild
Detail. Collaged print, etching, silkscreen, and monotype. 10 x 27 inches, 2020
2020 MAPPING THE ANTHROPOCENE
Print Portfolio for the Southern Graphics Conference International, San Juan Puerto Rico. Curated by Karen Oremus and Catherine Bebout .
Hurricane Maria has been regarded as the worst natural disaster to the Caribbean islands in recorded history. This catastrophic storm not only took a devastating toll on Puerto Rico but also signaled a call to action to bring into check human climate change so as to avoid global destruction. The Anthropocene has become the scientific environmental buzzword in geological time (Geo-Time) as the epoch of human activity, inclusive of the present moment and our impact today. Artists selected to participate in this portfolio project will explore this theme through diverse methods of printmaking to reveal how the inherent sequential process, along with layering images, has the potential to excavate the past while simultaneously indicating future moments in time as well. The artists chosen will also use mapping concepts to visually express this historical moment so as to reveal the graphic impact caused by man-made events in Geo-Time.
Artist Statement
The El Yunque forest sits on the eastern part of the island of Puerto Rico and encompasses 28,000 acres with over 240 species of trees. The devastation of Hurricane Maria caused innumerable damage to the rainforest and decimated much of the flora and fauna from deforestation and landslides, causing massive disruption and displacement to animal habitats. The Coqui` frog, a familiar symbol of Puerto Rico, already affected by occurrences of drought and fungus is now facing habitat loss. As the forest and the island begin to recover, new sun exposure generates a rebirth of dormant plant species that once stopped growing because of the blocked sunlight. a different type of wild examines an altered environmental system and records what might transpire when various species begin to overtake others, changing the ecological composition.