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"Carapace Caretta I"
A carapace is the dorsal shell of a number of animals, including turtles and
tortoises. The carapace is the exoskeleton, so it grows along with the animal,
serving as a primary defense against enemies. The innate quest for safety and
security is fundamental to all species, including humans. The symbols of
security are everywhere, as we seek to protect ourselves in an increasingly
dangerous world. Represented by the carapace, our system of defenses has evolved
as we have grown and matured. It has been programmed into us, we create it
ourselves through learning, and it serves both as our protector and as our
boundary.
The quest for security can be thwarted, so the carapace may be thin,
transparent, and even ineffective. The protective instincts and massive carapace
of the sea turtle have allowed it to survive its natural enemies for 90 million
years; yet, in just a few generations, man has driven these creatures to the
brink of extinction. The rock-armoring originally created to protect the
shorelines of barrier islands from erosion actually promotes erosion. The Inca
civilization built remarkable fortresses of stone and storehouses that could
provide their armies with food for ten or more years. However, they were
ultimately conquered, in large part not by martial strength, but by the smallpox
that the Spanish invaders brought with them to the new world.
My current project, “Carapace,” explores the frailty of our defenses. The two
installation pieces constructed to date are:
“Carapace: Caretta,” a model of a sea turtle shell constructed of foam
insulation, duct tape, plaster, wood shims, tissue, and polymer emulsion,
decorated with graphite, acrylic inks, and collage.
“Shield Wall,” composed of abutting membranes of tissue, gauze bandage, and
polymer emulsion, decorated with photo transfers, acrylic inks and graphite.
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