We-Self: exploring the bonds between humans and nature

February 2006

Jeanna Hastreiter
Mixed Media

Artist Statement:
In our industrialized, modern world, we rarely come into contact with nature. How long has it been since you've walked through a forest and not heard cars zooming by on a nearby highway? How long has it been since you've taken the time to sit under a tree with your eyes closed and feel the bark under your skin and listen to the slight rustle of its leaves moving in the wind? No one does these things anymore. We live in brick houses, walk on concrete sidewalks, and drive big hunks of metal. Our idea of nature is the tree farms we can see from the highway with perfectly straight rows of genetically engineered specimens. With this disconnection from nature comes a lack of respect and duty towards it. We have forgotten that we are killing everything that allows us to live and prosper. Sooner or later we will realize that the future of the environment and the future of humans are directly connected. We are inescapably bound with the natural world; if it goes, then eventually, so do we.

This Friday(2/24/06) is the closing reception for the We-Self show. The reception is from 6 - 7PM and will include a performance element.