Samantha Suarez
Undergraduate, Drawing
Gone?
watercolor on paper
My work features uncommon interactions between animals and the distinctiveness and variance of each kind of species. Though strikingly different, there is something that ties all of these species together in similarity – and that is their fate. My drawing operates as a memory of species no longer with us, as the viewer discovers embedded text indicating some of the reasons the species went extinct. Deforestation, poaching, and habitat loss are the main reasons as to why the species in the drawing are gone. A colored “aura” around them is cut short as they have already faded from existence. In contrast, a small flower, the Chocolate Cosmos, is embedded in the drawing, with the text standing out boldly on its leaf: “saved by vegetative propagation.” The Chocolate Cosmos is extinct in the wild but remains prosperous, which can’t be said for the other species represented. It is unfortunate that the vibrancy of life on Earth is slowly diminishing and will only continue to lose its variety without our care. By seeing these species come together, the viewer can realize how diverse man-made extinction truly is.
