Created exclusively for Gallery 4 at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, this installation represents my continued investigation of the changing natural world. Entitled Passengers, it focuses on the migration of invasive species through maritime commerce, exploration and travel. Such encroachments have been described as "quiet disasters" because they often remain undetected in their early stages and are a primary source of ecological changes worldwide.
The transportation of species often happens unintentionally when ships take water and organic matter into their hulls and discharge it upon reaching their destinations. This process increases the stability of vessels but displaces thousands of life forms that are invisible to the unaided eye. The introduction of these species to new locations can have harmful effects, from the destruction of pristine habitats and decimation of existing wildlife to the importation of harmful diseases. Recent high-proﬁle examples include the spread of human cholera to South America, turf grass to Antarctica, and fast-reproducing mussels to the Eastern half of the United States.
My installation at Blue Star considers a variety of invasive species and the means by which they travel. Shipping vessels from notable historic excursions hang alongside a large motif referencing portolan charts once used to navigate foreign waters. While it resembles cartographic artifacts, this diagram is based on contemporary maps generated by software that tracks security breaches and vulnerable areas of global data networks. On the periphery of this motif hang representations of various invasive species believed to have been imported by maritime travel. Their silhouettes are laid out on circular pieces of plexiglass, referencing the way in which
specimens are placed in petri dishes.
This exhibition is made possible in part by the Elm Fork Natural Heritage Museum, P.R.I.N.T Press, and a Research and Creativity Enhancement award from the University of North Texas.
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Blue Star Contemporary gratefully acknowledges major support from the City of San Antonio Department for Culture & Creative Development; The Lifshutz Family; Ann Griffith Ash; The Brown Foundation, Inc.; Charles C. Butt; Capital Group and The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation; Penelope Speier and Sonny Collins; the Mary Hobbs Griffith Foundation; H-E-B and H-E-B Tournament of Champions; the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; Ricos Products Co., Inc.; a grant from the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation; Valero Energy Corporation and the Valero Energy Foundation; and Weston Urban. Additional essential support is provided by 1010 South Flores Lofts and 1111 Austin Highway Lofts; Argo Group; C.H. Guenther & Son, Inc.; Dr. Dacia Napier; Frost Bank; Sarah Harte; King William Association; Kim Lewis and Jessica & Clint Worth; Neiman Marcus; Rackspace; Silver & Black Give Back; Silver Eagle Distributors; Texas Commission on the Arts; Wendy & Tom Wirth; and the Community Partners, Members, Individual Donors, and Board of Directors of Blue Star Contemporary.
© Contemporary Art For San Antonio 2016