Weave
The Covid 19 pandemic provided an opportunity to reflect on the interconnectedness of things including living systems and the built environment. Ecosystems are dynamic entities subject to periodic disturbances like hurricanes, fires or a novel virus using the human body as both a host and invisible distribution network for its own survival. Like the virus, much of the ecosystem we’ve constructed is invisible including economic networks, supply chains, the work force and information systems. What has become visible in this crisis is our dependency on these systems and civilization’s limited understanding that the planet’s biodiversity is critical to species survival, including our own. The big question is what will we learn from this and how might our behavior towards the natural world change?
Weave looks into the wonder and beauty of natural systems, our interdependency on them and the perils we face, and will face, if we do not respect the natural order of things. The work consists of invented organisms created through the planned and unplanned layering of screen printed ink and collage. All imagery was hand printed by the artist.
Media: Print collage on handmade paper. Screen-based monoprinting, monoprinting and chine-collé
Size: 8′ x 12′ (244 x 366 cm)
Year: 2020
Prospectus
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the California Society of Printmakers Artist Residency Program for funding my two-week artist residency at In Cahoots Residency, June 8 – 21, 2020 in Petaluma, California.
Making Weave
Photo by Macy Chadwick
Walking the print mural. Composition study, June 13, 2020 (3 minute video).
An interaction between organisms on June 22, 2020 (1 minute video).
Recorded by Macy Chadwick