Environmental artist Stephanie Garon uses century-old rock cores extracted from a mine in northeastern Maine to explore the interruption of nature by humanity. Since Baltimore houses over 100 mines, the two cities share concerns over indigenous land access, impact on local economy, and environmental stability. Themes of claim, labor, and permanence in each artwork reflect humanity's need to protect precious natural resources.
Biography
Stephanie Garon received dual science degrees from Cornell University, then attended Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Her environmental art has been exhibited internationally in London, Colombia, South Korea, as well as across the United States. Her writing, a critical aspect of her artistic process, has been published in international literary journals and her chapbook, ACREAGE, was published by Akinoga Press in December 2021 and is available at Politics & Prose Bookstore. She is a Hamiltonian Gallery Fellow, a National Park Service Artist-in-Residence in the Everglades, and recipient of a Puffin Foundation Environmental Art grant.
Artist Statement
As a five year old, I tagged along with my father to "hamfests,” radio operator gatherings held in county fair parking lots. Cars would pop open their trunks like overflowing treasure chests filled with electronic wares: old radio boxes, computer boards, cables, monitors, soldering irons. It was an oasis in the heart of wooded valleys.
Years later, when I’m welding and smelling the rusty steel odor of the studio, I am driving down those dusty roads again. My artwork investigates the vulnerability of nature to humanity. The juxtaposition of natural objects against industrial materials exposes dichotomies of formality/fragility and permanence/impermanence. The natural materials, sourced by hand locally, convey themes of claim, women’s labor, and time.
As ecologically motivated interventions, the physical process of decomposition becomes evident as the artworks change over time and emphasizes the fragility of nature. These abstracted expressions visualize an uneasy truce. A contemporary twist on the Arte Povera movement, my work addresses climate crisis politics, and mediates attention to the materials themselves.
Whether the viewer witnesses the changing installation or navigates their movement around these sculptures, the contemplative space created explores how we, as people, interrupt the natural world around us.
http://www.garonstudio.com/