Full Artist’s Statement

Most of the birds visible on this wall travel thousands of miles each year, crossing the Gulf of Mexico each fall to spend the winter in Central and/or South America (Neotropical). These migrants return each spring to breed in North America, some nesting far north as Canada or Greenland (Nearctic). Whether we know it or not, these Neotropical-Nearctic migrants connect us to the global community, every year bringing stories of habitat and climate with them.

Living in the Anthropocene, the age in which human activity is the dominant factor in changing the climate and natural environment, it is important to revel in the beauty of the world, to understand what we currently have, and to gain a sense of stewardship for natural spaces. Wander into a city park or a forested grove and you could very well see one or more of these birds. However, projected outcomes for 2050 and 2080 show 55% to 100% habitat loss in the summer or winter grounds for most Neotropical birds. Some birds may be able to adapt, to shift north, others will diminish in numbers or go extinct.

Environmentalism has often been illustrated by a good/bad dynamic: paper or plastic, poach or conserve. But the science of a warming planet shows the nuances of the collective consequences of 7.5 billion of us. This piece intends to lift the shroud of innocence and demonstrate that in a world shedding species at an hourly rate, we are all active players.

Canceled Edition explores innate human desires with the hope that a more honest understanding of those desires can contribute to a better understanding of how we live on this planet. What does a person in Covington have to do with a bird in a swamp downriver? Southern Louisiana faces some of the highest rates of sea level rise on the planet. Each of our actions collectively contribute to the rising of those seas and the lives of beings thousands of miles away.

Also endangered, the field of printmaking contends with the dominance of the digital in the 21st century. This exhibit celebrates printmaking with each color layer manually screen printed for each bird as well as the wallpaper. Using screen print and woodcut practices, and with hundreds of labor hours hand cutting, the exhibition uses print technology to imagine the future.