The Expulsion from Eden

"The Expulsion from Eden" series of mixed media paintings reinterprets the Biblical tale of banishment from a garden paradise as an allegory of consequences for industrialized humanity’s cumulative, destructive behaviors. Mythical first humans, positioned in gestures of anguish, struggle within anthropocene landscapes overlaid with data sourced from environmental and climate science. Passages from the Latin Vulgate translation of Genesis evoke an ancient story of divine punishment for humanity’s access to forbidden knowledge.

Work developed as Artist in Residence, Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Media: acrylic and latex house paint, vine charcoal, graphite, chalk pastel, colored pencil and ink, on canvas and paper. Sizes variable. 2022-2023.
Expulsion from Eden, Drought V. 1. 84" H x 84" W, 2022.
Expulsion from Eden, Drought V. 1. 84" H x 84" W, 2022.
The Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V. 1, 84" H x 63" W, 2022
The Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V. 1, 84" H x 63" W, 2022
The Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V. 2, 84" H x 63" W, 2022
The Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V. 2, 84" H x 63" W, 2022
Detail: Adam, Expulsion from Eden, Drought V.1
Detail: Adam, Expulsion from Eden, Drought V.1
Detail: Eve, Expulsion from Eden, Drought V.1
Detail: Eve, Expulsion from Eden, Drought V.1
Detail: Adam, Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V.1
Detail: Adam, Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V.1
Detail: Eve, Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V.1
Detail: Eve, Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V.1
Detail: Adam, Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V.2
Detail: Adam, Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V.2
Detail: Eve, Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V.2
Detail: Eve, Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V.2
Detail: Expulsion from Eden, Drought, V.1. Pie chart shows C02 emissions by industry, superimposed over excerpts from the 2021 IPCC Report.
Detail: Expulsion from Eden, Drought, V.1. Pie chart shows C02 emissions by industry, superimposed over excerpts from the 2021 IPCC Report.
Detail: Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration, V. 1 with artist hand for scale
Detail: Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration, V. 1 with artist hand for scale
Eve, study for a diptych. Charcoal, chalk pastel, ink, graphite, gold paint on Strathmore 400 paper, 60"H x 36" W
Eve, study for a diptych. Charcoal, chalk pastel, ink, graphite, gold paint on Strathmore 400 paper, 60"H x 36" W
Adam,study for a diptych. Charcoal, chalk pastel, ink, graphite, gold paint on Strathmore 400 paper, 60"H x 36" W
Adam,study for a diptych. Charcoal, chalk pastel, ink, graphite, gold paint on Strathmore 400 paper, 60"H x 36" W
NOTES
The Expulsion from Eden is in development as a suite of six large-scale paintings of apocalypse, myth and science: Conflagration, Drought & Deluge.
The Expulsion from Eden, Drought V. 1 includes excerpts from the 2021-2022 IPCC report, a pie chart of C02 emissions by industry, excerpts from a toxicology study on persistent agricultural chemicals in soil, formulae and text from climate tipping points studies, a graph of global average temperature rise, and excerpts from the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible, Genesis 3. Marginalia includes documentation of data sources and color tests.
 The Expulsion from Eden,Conflagration V. 1 includes excerpts from the 2021-2022 IPCC report, a feedback loop diagram of wildfire escalation, a linear chart showing greenhouse gas escalation past 2.7º C, a radial chart graphic of the Nine Planetary Boundaries for Biosphere Integrity, and excerpts from the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, Genesis 3. Marginalia includes documentation of data sources and color tests.
The Expulsion from Eden,Conflagration V. 2 includes excerpts from the 2021-2022 IPCC report, a linear graph showing the projected exhaustion of phyto-biomass, a graphic visualization of the disruption of the glacial-interglacial cycle, a radial chart graphic of the Nine Planetary Boundaries for Biosphere Integrity, and excerpts from the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, Genesis 3. Marginalia includes documentation of data sources and color tests.
Studio view, The Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V. 1 and V. 2, with studies and related works on paper. 2022
Studio view, The Expulsion from Eden, Conflagration V. 1 and V. 2, with studies and related works on paper. 2022
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