Since 32,000 years ago – the oldest known painting about the human and nature was found, this age-old relationship has been portrayed in many forms: from the early man’s crude cave sketches, to renderings of nature as deified, admonished, revered, and feared–all in the vivid mediums and from the finest masters. Today, we will present you with a collection of from American artist Kate Macdowell, who presents dead and decaying animals with anthropomorphic features – blurring the difference between man and nature in a state of destruction. Her choice to craft the pieces from porcelain helps adds a sense of fragility to the subjects – building a solid form and then hollowing it out.
Mice and Men
In her work this romantic ideal of union with the natural world conflicts with our contemporary impact on the environment. These pieces are in part responses to environmental stress including climate change, toxic pollution, and gm crops. In each case the union between man and nature is shown to be one of friction and discomfort with the disturbing implication that we too are vulnerable to being victimized by our destructive practices.
If you like her work, click here to see her portfolio.