HUMAN NATURE
DAMIAN MASSEY
28 February - 12 March, 2017
Humanity’s labour has created society and culture. But the relationship of humans to nature, and the connection between the natural world and human society is an area of great controversy.
With HUMAN NATURE, Damian Massey explores the impact human activity has on the natural environment and suggests the challenge to rediscover the connections that remain in our natural surroundings between nature and modern world.
This springtime exhibition presents a skewed vision of birth and rebirth and the challenges faced by nature's relationship with man - a representation of the natural life cycle, contained, almost trapped inside a human construct, made from the discarded materials of home.
Damian is a recent graduate of Staffordshire University's Fine Art Course and has been selected for and was a double prizewinner in New Art West Midlands' 2017 best new artists exhibition.
Poor disposal of waste products poses a risk not only for human health and the worlds ecosystems. It also causes soil and water contamination, as well as air pollution. Effects such as land degradation and habitat destruction are a result of deforestation. Species become endangered and at the risk of becoming extinct all because of humanity’s ignorance and desperate needs to create a better world to fit their specific requirements.
The formation of the work is inspired by a cocoon of a butterfly, found on a tree. The way the caterpillar goes through immense change to become a superior insect, suitable for a diverse environment, fascinates me. Without the change the caterpillar’s life would be short-lived. It was necessary to reflect the Caterpillars behaviour towards that of human Society and our urban environments as they both evolve to fit their particular environments, but one can say we are destroying our own.
All the material collected for this sculptural form has been congregated from local gardens, bins, alley ways and nearby forests. Inside is jam-packed from cardboard, plastics sheets, shoes, chicken wire, newspaper. It’s never the intention to create a solid, motionless form. I always welcome the solidity and movement of the sculpture so it fits in various human locations. In this case, the window performs as a barrier between the modern world and that of nature. Its bulbous shape squeezes from corner to wall to create the allusion of continuous growth. Made from Human Waste material the work signifies the problem that surrounds us every day and raises the question: Do we want to live in a human wasteland of our own chaos? Habitat Destruction and deforestation could just be the beginning, maybe it’s time to stop changing the environment to fit our requirements, but to live harmoniously amongst the natural world and understand that wildlife plays a key factor in our quest for a sustainable world
- Damian Massey, 2017
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Living and working in Stoke-on-Trent, and a graduate of Staffordshire University, Massey's work explores the boundaries between sculpture, painting and installation, through stripping apart the traditional elements and reconstructing them into new compositions. By exploring the physical environment its context and form, together with the desire to unpick and embrace the relationships people have with the natural world, each form is a response to a particular species, insect or microorganism from the natural environment that i have found to be captivating, only to announce these unfamiliar forms into a human setting to create a sense of displacement between wildlife and the modern world.
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INTHEWINDOW is an exhibition programme taking place solely in the unique window exhibiting space of AirSpace Gallery. Seen daily by hundreds of passers-by, works in this window are commissioned largely through open calls for emerging practitioners, and for artists wishing to test and experiment with new works.
With HUMAN NATURE, Damian Massey explores the impact human activity has on the natural environment and suggests the challenge to rediscover the connections that remain in our natural surroundings between nature and modern world.
This springtime exhibition presents a skewed vision of birth and rebirth and the challenges faced by nature's relationship with man - a representation of the natural life cycle, contained, almost trapped inside a human construct, made from the discarded materials of home.
Damian is a recent graduate of Staffordshire University's Fine Art Course and has been selected for and was a double prizewinner in New Art West Midlands' 2017 best new artists exhibition.
Poor disposal of waste products poses a risk not only for human health and the worlds ecosystems. It also causes soil and water contamination, as well as air pollution. Effects such as land degradation and habitat destruction are a result of deforestation. Species become endangered and at the risk of becoming extinct all because of humanity’s ignorance and desperate needs to create a better world to fit their specific requirements.
The formation of the work is inspired by a cocoon of a butterfly, found on a tree. The way the caterpillar goes through immense change to become a superior insect, suitable for a diverse environment, fascinates me. Without the change the caterpillar’s life would be short-lived. It was necessary to reflect the Caterpillars behaviour towards that of human Society and our urban environments as they both evolve to fit their particular environments, but one can say we are destroying our own.
All the material collected for this sculptural form has been congregated from local gardens, bins, alley ways and nearby forests. Inside is jam-packed from cardboard, plastics sheets, shoes, chicken wire, newspaper. It’s never the intention to create a solid, motionless form. I always welcome the solidity and movement of the sculpture so it fits in various human locations. In this case, the window performs as a barrier between the modern world and that of nature. Its bulbous shape squeezes from corner to wall to create the allusion of continuous growth. Made from Human Waste material the work signifies the problem that surrounds us every day and raises the question: Do we want to live in a human wasteland of our own chaos? Habitat Destruction and deforestation could just be the beginning, maybe it’s time to stop changing the environment to fit our requirements, but to live harmoniously amongst the natural world and understand that wildlife plays a key factor in our quest for a sustainable world
- Damian Massey, 2017
--------------------------------------------------------------
Living and working in Stoke-on-Trent, and a graduate of Staffordshire University, Massey's work explores the boundaries between sculpture, painting and installation, through stripping apart the traditional elements and reconstructing them into new compositions. By exploring the physical environment its context and form, together with the desire to unpick and embrace the relationships people have with the natural world, each form is a response to a particular species, insect or microorganism from the natural environment that i have found to be captivating, only to announce these unfamiliar forms into a human setting to create a sense of displacement between wildlife and the modern world.
---------------
INTHEWINDOW is an exhibition programme taking place solely in the unique window exhibiting space of AirSpace Gallery. Seen daily by hundreds of passers-by, works in this window are commissioned largely through open calls for emerging practitioners, and for artists wishing to test and experiment with new works.
