Senior Project Exhibition
The Brief: At the end of their studies, art majors are required to develop and present a coherent body of self-generated work. This exhibition combines their knowledge of techniques and concepts while drawing on research of historical and contemporary artists. Each artist in the exhibition designs and creates a unique installation that combines their technical skills and conceptual vision.
Results: My senior project, “Come On In, the Water’s Fine!”, highlights the effects of the harmful algae blooms caused by human activity that have been plaguing the state of Florida since late 2017. Human beings have always had a relationship with and dependence on nature, but we are increasingly becoming disconnected from that relationship as we use and abuse the natural world for our own benefit. We have shifted into the Anthropocene, the current geological period where it is human activity that is the dominant influence on climate and the environment, rather than nature itself.
As someone who grew up in Southwest Florida, I know the importance of protecting our local environment. The economy in Florida is largely dependent on ecotourism and people flock to this area primarily for the climate and beaches. Unfortunately, those in power in our government are not immune to the widespread disconnect with nature, viewing it primarily as a resource to meet human needs. Over the past century, Lake Okeechobee has been dammed up to provide irrigation to the sugar and agriculture industry and to control water levels in the middle of the state. Freshwater that once flowed naturally south has been diverted from the lake through the Caloosahatchee River which spills into the Gulf of Mexico. This freshwater is contaminated with nutrient pollution meant to fertilize crops, but instead has been feeding harmful blue-green algae and red tide blooms causing damaging effects to the health of marine life and coastal communities. In my work the juxtaposition of cheerful people and slogans with images of the devastation brought on by red tide represents the Florida government’s failure to properly address the problem. My hope is that my work will evoke a sense of urgency to reexamine our relationship with nature and to protect it before it is gone.
For my project, I have created a series of posters that form a sociopolitical commentary on the ongoing environmental crisis in Florida. I chose a vintage “Old Florida” theme for my work in order to evoke nostalgia for the bygone days when Florida’s beaches were healthy and tourists abounded. I used vintage postcards and tourism advertisements as source images, digitally recreated them and manipulated the images to include the effects of the toxic algae blooms that were and still are present in Southwest Florida. While the situation is not to be taken lightly, sometimes the best way to talk about something heavy is through satire. By including slogans meant to attract tourists to visit our state over the images of devastation, I am criticizing the government’s lack of action while they continue to encourage tourists to visit. Much like our government, I am telling the viewer to “come on in, the water’s fine!”
As part of my exhibition, I sold postcards for a suggested donation to Captains for Clean Water, a non-profit organization advocating for better management of Florida's waters. I also encouraged those who purchased a postcard to mail it to their local representative.
After the Senior Project Exhibition, my work was chosen to be shown in another show, Undercurrent: Florida Artists & Water, in the FGCU Library Archives.