Open Road: Terra

Natalie Lam

Saran wrap, packing tape, collected trash, plastic bottles, plastic bags, fishing wire, soil, clear tarp, water

SEMINAR: I explored the idea of collective action vs. solidary action in our approach to everyday situations, stemming from human selfishness and compassion. Moreover, I examine ways in which both virtue and vice contribute to progression and change in the world.

STUDIO:

Through this project I was able to explore the relationship between humans and the Earth and the idea that we are more deeply connected to our planet than we could grasp. I wanted to draw attention to our actions as they hold the power to affect the Earth.

The soil represents the ground on which we walk, the Earth, and the human figure is a personification of the Earth, or a projection of the soil. By filling the human form with trash that I’ve collected throughout the process of creating this piece, I wanted to create a visual image of a suffering Earth as a result of human action.

This concept of feeling connected to the Earth is a difficult one to fully grasp because so many of our actions have been ingrained so deeply into our daily routine that we don’t ever get the chance to think about them. Even the most insignificant action (tossing a gum wrapper on the ground, putting our cars into drive, keeping the lights on after we leave the house) have an affect on the Earth. Collectively, our actions and decisions impact the Earth more profoundly than we could imagine. It’s easy to forget this because our planet is so vast that we can’t see its immediate effects; it’s something that we must become aware enough to feel before we can see.

: Reference-Christine Ödlund (2013)

: Reference-Artist Unknown

: Reference-Vaughn Bell (2009)

In this personification of the Earth I wanted to fully demonstrate the result of our actions and to bring us closer to the Earth by drawing upon human compassion and sympathy because I believe that by giving our planet a face, limbs, and a body, it becomes easier to see the thread that ties humans to it. The feeling of sympathy towards a suffering human is often more instinctive than it is to understand the suffering that is our vast and often overwhelmingly boundless Earth.

The pouring of the water as it cascades over the body and returns back to the soil on which I stand is symbolic of the action that humans deliberately “dump” waste onto the Earth as eventually, it simply makes its way back onto the ground beneath my feet. This action emphasizes the singular motion and establishes the cyclical nature of humans and our Earth.

Ultimately, the Earth reflects human action.