The Myth of Nature –agaG1

Why is it that objects which leave a geological mark lasting an epoch are so readily available, with prices not accounting for their enduring environmental burden?

WE ARE LIVING ON A DAMAGED PLANET.

THERE IS HOPE IN IMAGINATION — THIS WORK IS A FIELD TRIP TO ANOTHER WORLD.

The outcome of an ongoing material research project, The Myth of Nature – agaG1 speculates on what it would mean if a global price on waste and environmental depletion was introduced. In doing so, it proposes an alternative to our species’ problem with single-use plastics and infrastructural ties to petrochemicals.

The algae-based polymer developed by the artist and used in these works is made from organic materials. It can be completely recycled in a process as simple as boiling pasta, enabling reuse of 100% of the material without need for a high-energy recycling system. If disposed in the environment, the polymer degrades without risking the lives of other species.

On the desk, sit three vessels of live Athrospira platensis microalgae. These are the first organisms known to have produced oxygen on Earth, and still produce between 50-80% of the oxygen in each breath we take. They are the oldest organism to be found in fossils and have existed on this planet for at least 3.5 billion years.

Out of Respect for Tradition, They Destroyed the World – C6H10O5, depicts murmurations of Athrospira platensis within watery blue scenes. The triptych imagines the beings as having survived humanity’s destruction of the world, commenting on the absurdity of human culture’s failure to respond to crisis.'—Jessie French