Hera(cules)
The Death of the Old Gods, Allegorical Narrative as Contemporary critique
Andrea Silk
In this series I wanted to reclaim some of the essential ideas that the old gods represented about humanity's existence, by using them as a lens through which to question the boundaries between humanity, technology and nature within contemporary Western society. The intention is to use mythological allegory to explore ideas concerning environmental and social injustice that are perpetuated by Western cultural practices. In terms of scrutinizing environmental] injustice, these works will deliberate on notions of responsible resource stewardship (sustainability) by critiquing current Western practices that harm the populations of both the human and non-human environments that they interrupt. Ideas concerning social transgression will question the notion of the natural human body while exploring the meaning of a post human body in terms of gender, race and body image, and how technology intersects and conflates these ideas.
Utilizing reflective garbage in my work, I refuse to deny the attraction to this shiny type of refuse. This 'pretty' garbage is a direct by product of consumerist marketing strategies that target the human attraction to light by creating packaging (mostly for luxury imported goods) with the capacity to reflect light from many different angles. This aspect is what I find so fascinating, that the foils literally change as one interacts with the works, thus taking on a new dimension in that perspective can completely change how one experiences the works.
Like the transient state of the foils in my work I believe it is not the unchanging which signifies eternal beauty but the ever changing, like the rhizomatic constructions of history, eco-systems, cities, societies, the internet, circuits and root structures, all must evolve and grow. Even the Gods must die and be reborn for our era.