What if all the colour leaked out of nature?
Lylian Klimek / Sculpture
(September 30 - November 14, 2004)
Calgary-based artist Lylian Klimek has created a series of sculptured works in plastic and vinyl that resemble organic forms. The artist was motivated by an interest in genetic manipulation in nature and asked herself, “What if all the colour leaked out of nature? …leaving it colourless....” Her series of works add new dimension to dystopian scenarios envisioned by the artist and others.
From her artist statement, Klimek refers to this series of installations and sculptures as ongoing since 1998. Specific sources for her work are science fiction depictions of the natural world and its workings as well as research going on in biotechnology which, increasingly, is reconfiguring the natural world. The artists adds, "Currently, I am continuing work on a series of colourless, ice like fantasy sculpture that centers on a What If question, 'What if all the colour leaked out of nature?' Reading in science fiction combined with research in the area of genetic manipulation of plants and animals led to some interesting speculation about dystopian possibilities centred on the question, 'What if, one day, as a result of the stepped up pace of genetic meddling in the natural world, all the colour leaked out of nature?' So, one day, no colour in nature and nobody would know how to get it back. In our rush to commodify nature, could this really happen? Probably not but it does offer attention to the fact that the natural world is being greatly altered by many kinds of intervention, sometimes in beneficial ways but sometimes in ways which have the potential to unleash a lot of damage."
