Lens Perception

The human race has advances at a rapid pace, new technologies have opened doors to many possibilities, but at what cost? The burning of fossil fuels has released large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions into the earth's atmosphere resulting in global warming. Climate change has caused an unbalance in the worlds delicate ecosystems; glaciers, sea ice and permafrost are melting resulting in a rise of sea level then consequentially flooding. Extreme drought and heat are other consequences. Greenpeace claims on its website,

“more flooding, more drought, more disease, more famine and more war, creating hundreds of millions of refugees and causing the destruction of entire ecosystems and species."

Deforestation is another major problem created by the demand for surplus products- wood to be used as a resource, forests cut down to make way for farm land, leads to the loss of habitats for many species and an increase in the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.

My work uses raw materials, glass and wood to communicate this message, exploring the relationship between the natural and the manufactured. I use the translucent quality of hand blown glass, to create a lens through the center of unprocessed wood. The glass, as a representation of the manufactured world, replaces the heart of the tree. Although they become one of the same, creating a window of perception, the wood is burnt in the process; a constant reminder of the damage the human race has caused to the natural environment.