Catherine Chalmers - An Artist's Journey Into the Wild

Catherine Chalmers’ work lies at the intersection of art science and nature. She conducts extensive research for each of her long-term multimedia projects and direct physical engagement with the natural world is central to her process. Through her art she aims to give form to the richness — as well as the brutality and indifference — that often characterize humanity’s relationship with nature.

Chalmers uses the narrative possibilities of the visual arts to bridge the growing divide between humans and the environment and to creatively engage with the systems that support life on Earth. She believes that culture is far richer when it includes and considers other life forms.
Though she has worked across media — from engineering and painting to photography video sculpture and drawing — her artistic practice has always centered on one core issue: how to confront and challenge an anthropocentric worldview. Humanity has long drawn lines in the sand to define what belongs and what does not. Perhaps now in the dawn of the Anthropocene it is time to reconsider those lines — and what lives on the other side.

Chalmers’ current work Conifer Trees Bark Beetles & Fire is a deeply personal project that aims to explore the intricate relationship between beetles wildfires and trees while shedding light on the broader consequences of human actions on forest ecology. By revealing both the beauty and the tragedy within these natural processes Chalmers hopes to inspire a deeper understanding and appreciation of the complexities of environmental conservation and the vital role art plays in conveying these insights.

You may also like the following events from Penny Stamps Speaker Series:

• Next month, 18th September, 05:30 pm, Roberto Lugo - The Village Potter in Ann Arbor
• Next month, 19th September, 07:00 pm, Dana Miller and John Yau - The Art and Lives of Carmen Herrera and Leon Polk Smith in Ann Arbor
• Next month, 25th September, 05:30 pm, Rhiannon Giddens: Music of the American Underclass - What Really Made America Great in Ann Arbor