Nature’s Toolbox Gallery

E.V. Day, Clematis, chromogenic archival print, 74 × 74 in, 2010–2011. (© E.V. Day. Courtesy of Carolina Nitsch, New York.)

Clematis

Exhibition Theme: What Is Biodiversity?

From a series called The Seducers. This flower—plucked, pressed, digitally scanned and blown up to 18 times its original size—was photographed at the estate of the impressionist artist Claude Monet in Giverny, France. It appears vibrantly alive and sensuous. The print’s large-scale, enveloping effect places the viewer in the position of a creature entering the blossom, asking us to consider how the function and design of the flower attracts and lures pollinators with the sweet promise of reproduction.

E.V. Day
U.S.A.
<http://carolinanitsch.com/index.php?/projects/ev-day/>

Chris Drury, Spore Wave, video and mixed media installation, 120 × 92 in, 2005. (© Chris Drury)

Spore Wave

Exhibition Theme: Why Is Biodiversity Important?

A video of mushroom spores is projected onto a wall and reflected into a shallow pool of gently rippling water. Drury conveys the message that the mushroom is the great recycler of waste, breaking down dead matter into soil. With its circular, mandala-like shape, the mushroom is a perfect illustration and reminder that, without constant renewal, our soils cannot support the biodiversity of life, which will lead to our own demise.

Chris Drury
U.K.
<http://chrisdrury.co.uk/>

The Nature of Cities: The Metabolism of Cities, multi-video installation created by Art Works for Change for the Shanghai Expo 2010. Including video by (top left) Anthony Discenza, Drift 2003 (© Anthony Discenza); (top right) Sven Pahlsson, Sprawlville 2003 (© Sven Pahlsson); (bottom left) Rob Carter, Metropolis, 2008 (© Rob Carter); (bottom right) Cao Fei, The Birth of RMB City, 2009 (© Cao Fei).

The Nature of Cities: The Metabolism of Cities

Exhibition Theme: How Do Humans Affect Biodiversity?

A city’s metabolism is the sum of countless physical and chemical processes that compose its pavement and parks, rivers and runways, trucks and trees, lawns and landfills. Cities are born, and cities can die. When birds and butterflies cannot survive in a city, it is a bad sign for humans. It means that the basic ingredients for life—clean air and water and a diversity of other life—are threatened. It means that we have despoiled our natural world, crippling its ability to filter air and water, fend off pests, pollinate flowers, moderate temperatures and perform dozens of other “services” upon which we rely daily.

Anthony Discenza
U.S.A.
<http://cclarkgallery.com/artists/works/anthony-discenza>

Rob Carter
U.K.
<www.robcarter.net/>

Sven Pahlsson
Norway
<www.svenpahlsson.com/>

Cao Fei
China
<www.vitamincreativespace.com>

Suzanne Anker, Biota, sculptural installation, 75 porcelain silver-leaf figurines, 38 × 36 × 48 in, 2011. (© Suzanne Anker)

Biota

Exhibition Theme: What Can We Learn from Nature about How to Flourish?

Sponges are the simplest animals, yet we share with them the fundamental features that unite all animals. Although these ancient, multi-celled animals lack nervous systems, marine sponges offer clues to the developmental origins of complex neurological systems. They possess all the building blocks necessary for the development of nerves. Although we do not look or act like sea sponges, as humans we share 70 percent of our genes with them.

Suzanne Anker
U.S.A.
<www.suzanneanker.com>

Christian Kerrigan, In the Spirit of Living, ink on paper, 14 × 19 in, 2012. (© Christian Kerrigan)

In the Spirit of Living

Exhibition Theme: What Can We Learn from Nature about How to Flourish?

In 2010, Researchers in Japan placed oak flakes as a food source near brainless, single-celled slime molds. In response, the molds grew toward the food source in an algorithmic pattern of networks that bear a striking similarity to the layout of the Japanese rail system.

In a...