InterSpecies
Urban inventions like concrete habitats and grocery stores create the illusion that we humans are separate from nature, but we are no less woven within the natural world than any other flora, fauna or fungi. Each image in this series is a visual representation of a specific way in which humans are inextricably connected to all other living things and natural elements.
From the DNA we borrow from other species, to the oxygen we breathe with every inhale, our very existence is an interspecies collaboration.
I chose self-portraiture as the format for this series to represent my own journey of discovering my place within the natural world. Through interactions with Indigenous people, the writing of brilliant environmentalists, and time spent alone outdoors, I’ve come to recognize all creatures as kin and view my life as a continuation of creation.
If our species is to survive the sixth mass extinction and build a sustainable society within the Anthropocene, each of us must first reconnect with our true nature and cultivate a personal reverence for animals, water, corals, forests, and even dirt. This project aims to poke at our deepest truth, dormant under urban distractions, and provoke the remembering of our interconnected dependence across species.
It is diversity within the tree of life that made our own lives possible, and it is biodiversity that will allow us to continue creating on this planet, along with everything that buzzes and blooms and breathes.
Every Thought
Our capacity for cognition is the result of millions of years of evolution and DNA mutations. We were many forms before becoming human. That lineage is present today in our genetic code, the majority of which is shared with other species of flora and fauna.
Every Breathe
Every inhale is powered by the exhale of the plant kingdom.
Every Drop
All life was made possible by this element’s ability to cycle through different forms and replenish itself. From sky to stream to skin to soil. Water connects us to everywhere it traveled and everything is was before us.
Every Ending
There isn’t actually an “ending”, just a recycling of nutrients. All death lends itself to life.