An Ethical Compass: A proposition for an Alternate Future
To many people, isolated curiosities – like the first successful cloning of a mammal, Dolly the Sheep – no longer seem so freakish once advances in genetics and scientific technology have begun to appear regularly in print, on television, and in the science and financial press. For specialists and for the public, a threshold has been reached. All of us are witnessing how unfolding discoveries in the field of science are beginning to rewrite the definition of life. With so much at stake, the need to take stock of where we are, and where we might be going, is crucial.
Thus, my artwork was conceived to encourage the public to take a more active role in the ongoing dialogue that will shape our future. My exhibition showcases provocative artworks that share an engagement with science, a sense of authority, and the willingness to take on and to communicate complex issues and ideas.
Specifically, my artwork explores the relationship between animals and humans. To explore this relationship, I primarily focus on the visceral natures of sex, development, and birth because these are recognized primal necessities shared between both humans and vertebrates. Through the use of Photoshop, I have created photomontages of images I have collected from scientific textbooks and the Internet to facilitate in the creation of the “impossible”. Although I have conjured up these sci-fi events from my imagination, the possibilities of science, advancements in technology, and human intervention make these “fantasies” plausible in reality. The images seem at first possible and convincing to some degree, but there is still this nagging realization that the places or events portrayed cannot exist either because of evolution or current technological restraints.
Marissa Fiume ‘19
Advisor: Sharon Lynn and Sharon Koelblinger
All images copyright © 2019 Marissa Fiume. All rights reserved.
Fetus in Utero. Archival print on photo paper, plexiglass. 13" x 17" x 1". 2019.
Installation. 2019.
Detail. 25 Glass slides, digital imaging. 2019.
Installation. 2019.
An Unexpected Clutch. Archival print on photo paper, plexiglass. 11" x 16" x 1". 2019.