Katja Novitskova
Approximation (The Apocalypse's Many Horsemen), 2020
digital print on 3 layers of aluminum cutout display
250 x 180 x 50 cm
98 6/16 x 70 13/16 x 19 10/16 in
98 6/16 x 70 13/16 x 19 10/16 in
The sculpture is a monument of biodiversity, mixing graphical elements from scientific and conspiracy theory contexts. The frog, an Australian species, sitting on a human hand in a lab glove,...
The sculpture is a monument of biodiversity, mixing graphical elements from scientific and conspiracy theory contexts.
The frog, an Australian species, sitting on a human hand in a lab glove, is close to being extinct. The effort to keep the species on a functional level is done in labs, with attempts to gene edit and select fungi-resistant frogs or other organisms that could help the frogs survive. The fungi, originating in Korea, has reached Europe and is responsible for a large loss of amphibian species. Even if scientists and conservationists will be able to save one iconic species, it will be a synthetic one.
Paradoxically in the time of Covid-19 crisis, the environmental global understanding might be reaching a new level, as it is obvious that an infectious organism sees no national borders, race or economical achievements. The connection between the destruction of biodiversity and the jumps of infectious organisms from animal to human hosts is now clearly established.
The frog, an Australian species, sitting on a human hand in a lab glove, is close to being extinct. The effort to keep the species on a functional level is done in labs, with attempts to gene edit and select fungi-resistant frogs or other organisms that could help the frogs survive. The fungi, originating in Korea, has reached Europe and is responsible for a large loss of amphibian species. Even if scientists and conservationists will be able to save one iconic species, it will be a synthetic one.
Paradoxically in the time of Covid-19 crisis, the environmental global understanding might be reaching a new level, as it is obvious that an infectious organism sees no national borders, race or economical achievements. The connection between the destruction of biodiversity and the jumps of infectious organisms from animal to human hosts is now clearly established.