Oh, Wonder! Votives of the Anthropocene: MFA Thesis Metal

Abstract

My research occurs in biological and archeological texts, as well as in mythological realms. The twin tracks of scientific investigation and folklore illuminate a wide range of relationships between that which we imagine and that which we manifest. I pose the question: what mythology will we construct for ourselves to explain our contemporary conditions? How now do we explain the butter that won’t churn? The fallow field? The failed experiment? What is the equivalent casting of the evil eye? To explore these ideas, I am collecting a pantheon of mythical creatures new and old, real and imagined and investigating these questions of genetic and physical transformation through a lens of folklore and superstition. I reflect on the traditional ephemera of bodily adornment and domestic decoration as I adapt historical forms to tackle contemporary anxieties.