Deborah Kennedy

Text for Traces exhibition submission:

1. Every Part Wedded to the Whole

This environmental artwork explores the intimate connections between ourselves, all other lifeforms and their ecosystems.  The blue circle floating above is based on a scientific illustration of environmental complexity developed by Professor W. D. Billings. He modeled how all life on our planet, including human life, is sustained through complex relationships with our ecosystems.  Below, layers of copper, a trace mineral essential to all life, suggests the complexity of a rich, organic world.

I learned a deep appreciation for the natural world, as well as, how to use metal leaf from my mother who created complex tole work in gold leaf and bronzing powders. She also modeled a deep commitment to your own creative vision, perhaps her most important lesson.

2. Plastic Plankton

Plankton are diverse lifeforms floating in salt or fresh water where they perform innumerable ecological roles as they shape the geology and life on our planet. Phytoplankton produced our planet’s first oxygen-rich atmosphere fostering the growth of other plants and eventually animals. Today, they produce almost seventy percent of the available oxygen on Earth and their wide array of ecological services make them critical to supporting life on our planet. Many recent scientific studies find these crucial players in the web of life are declining at alarming rates.

This work was created on a damaged and reclaimed plexiglass sheet using techniques derived from reverse glass painting techniques that originated in Medieval Europe. I learned these techniques from my mother and developed new respect for her artistry.

3. Forgotten Fount I

This detailed drawing features floating human eggs in an aqueous landscape and images inspired by ecological diagrams and data visualization. This is a rumination on the necessity of protecting our genetic heritage—a largely ignored endeavor crucial to our survival. Currently, we are seeing a rising incidents of infertility and birth defects, clear signs we are failing to protect our most precious biological materials.