Flamingo Gardens
Membership preview of "Wild Florida"
Sept. 27, 2024
Many thanks to everyone at Flamingo Gardens, especially Genevieve Marcello, Senior Director of Programming, who invited me to exhibit my art in this beautiful space. It is such an honor. Thanks also to Vivian, Beth, Donna, Kelly and Rosely from the Development department, who put together this lovely event. Thanks to Kathy Daigler for making signs and graphics for promotional materials.
Thank you to Chris Burns for constant support and encouragement.
And thanks to all of you, Flamingo Gardens members, for coming out tonight and for your continued support of Flamingo Gardens, and through them, your support of the arts and artists in Broward County. We all appreciate it!
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I'd also like to express gratitude for the grace of the Florida Everglades. I respect the care and protection exchanged between these lands and waters and their rightful guardians, the Miccosukee and Seminole people, and before them the Tequesta people, and before them the Glades people, and others Indigenous to this place.
As a third-generation uninvited guest here, with roots in Europe, much of my art is a way for me to wrestle with the question of is it possible to heal from and transform away from settler culture, which does so much damange to humanity and the entire planet? We need to change not just as individuals, but at a social level. We are seeing the impacts of our extractive and exploitative economies at the global scale, as well as locally. This particular series of works is focused on the latter -- I draw as a way to get to know the living beings right around me a bit better, and potentially connect with those I encounter, in a more personal way.
Growing up here, I recall many species I no longer see very often or at all: praying mantises, armadillos, wasps, ladybugs, and blue crabs were everywhere. Their disappearance is due to the relentless spread of city structures, along with practices that directly destroy wild bodies and habitat, all consequences of an economy and mindset that are very indifferent to nature. We're trained to think of living beings as objects here for our convenience. I see people constantly cutting down beautiful mature trees because they're in the way of more buidlings or just because they're messy. There's routine pesticide use even when there aren't any insects left, and plastic grass suffocating the soil. People say they like birds, but then they kill and remove all of their food.
And still, and yet, so many wild beings still exist here. Fewer and fewer, but persisting and surviving. This is their only home. They need to be protected and given priority before they're all gone.
Many visitors and residents don't know the plants and wildlife, don't notice them, don't look out for them. When they do see them, often they're afraid of them. So many people fear raccoons, caterpillars, harmless snakes, any kind of insect. They're trained to think of native wildflowers as "weeds" or pests, and do everything they can to erradicate them.
Through making art like this, I learn a lot about different species myself, and it's also a way to connect with others who feel similarly and teach me a lot. And it's a way for me to offer encouragement for us to get to know all these wild beings around us, especially those right in our neighborhoods. Let's pay attention to this plant or insect or bird, and say hello to them. Even if people think you're a weirdo -- so what! Let's share information with each other: for example, that bidens alba isn't a weed, it's a remedy for arthritis pain and provides 30% of the pollen that bees need. That oleander moths are beautiful and their caterpillars don't sting, so we don't have to spray your bushes with poison. That possums eat roaches and can't carry rabies, so we don't need to fear them. That you can enjoy eating sea grapes -- if the parrots don't get them first.
For this project I thought: maybe if people learned the names of different species, they would start to notice them as individuals, with lives as important to them as ours are to us. Mabye more people would grow to respect them, value their presence, and even maybe love them. And maybe if they love them, they'll not only stop thinking of them as unwanted pests, but will instead be inspired to help them thrive. There are countless ways to do that, from putting water out for bees on a balcony, to planting cover shrubs for raccoons and possums, to planting native plants for pollinators, to educating others, to protesting when politicians try to turn state parks into golf courses. (People really came together all over Florida around that and pushed back, which is so amazing! Let's keep that momentum going!)
So far I've drawn 50 species in this style and format, and I have a lot of other work as well that's exploring related themes of strengthening a more respectful and balanced connection with the living world.
For the past couple years I've been making small prints of my artwork and leaving them outside in various places like fences and bus stops -- 130 prints will also be hidden here in the gardens in the coming weeks.
I like to bring art to people in their daily life, outside of artworld settings that many can find intimidating, like galleries and museums. It makes me happy to surprise people with unexpected gifts of art, outside of commercial transactions and commodity structures. I offer free coloring pages for people to print out and use at events, and have permanent coloring station at history museum. Some of this work has been supported by grants from the Broward County Cultural Division. And to make a living, I sell original art and prints, and produce greeting cards, stickers, coloring books and other items. I also do some commissioned work, like recently I designed wraps for 16 electrical boxes in downtown Fort Lauderdale, all with illustrations of local species.
Until about 7 years ago, I was a cartoonist for 25 years -- I used to draw editorial cartoons, comic strips, and graphic novels -- and my drawing style has evolved from that -- lots of bright colors, and humor. I like funny expressions; I enjoy drawing faces that make me smile back, even on flowers, trees, rocks and clouds. It's a symbolic way to acknowledge that the whole world is alive, has agency, and deserves reciprocity. That we should all be friends.
My hope is that my artwork sparks conversation, and invites people into a mindset where erradicating the natural world is no longer normalized, but is seen for the irrational practice that it is -- not just harmful to those directly affected, but to all of us. I hope we can come together to help improve the way we all relate to the rest of the web of life. We're all connected and supported by the lands and waters around us, and we need to remember and honor that.
