Mirrored Acrylic, Pressed and Burned Flowers, Cyanotype Tablecloths, Beans, Longhorn Cattle Horns, Candles, Resurrection Ferns, Fabricated Nests, Cyanotype Prayer Flags, Video (Dimensions Variable)
Platteforum AIR Gallery - Denver, CO
2024
Statement: When we interface with climate change, it's easy to feel powerless, paralyzed, and passive—because the issue is so massive, and often, abstract. This notion led me to investigate: how can I make the most impactful difference as an individual? Our single biggest lever against climate change, as individuals, is our diet. Ethics, religions, wealth, culture, and where we live in the world inform our food choices— especially our meat consumption. I believe a shift in the amount of meat we eat and a shift away from industrial agriculture are urgent. Meat itself is not the enemy, but the level of consumption in affluent countries is not sustainable.
I realize this position and the emotional complexity of the food choices we make risks a polarized response. Being told what to eat (or not eat) is rarely successful in getting people to change their diet and messages that ask this are going to be met with pushback. When someone suggests one should eat less meat, it could be said that you're taking away their cultural heritage, their identity. As a conflicted carnivore myself, portions of this show are manifestations of a deeply personal assessment of my diet, values, and actions. What I hope you take away from this exhibition are new insights into your values with an increased ability to make your personal views more explicit—to then build more constructive conversations. Wherever you fall in this debate, my wish is that you can look beyond your stance, possibly returning to your original position but with deeper insight into why people hold different points of view. I invite you to share yours in writing on the adjacent wall.