I absolutely love wildlife. Animals make me feel one with the universe, but recently I’ve noticed how much humans have exploited them. In my Sustained Investigation, I wanted to explore the human destruction of nature. I wanted to bring attention to how wildlife has had to adjust to industrialization. 

 

Some questions that guided my sustained investigation are: How have humans altered animals’ natural environments through industrialization? How are humans exploiting wildlife for their own benefits? How has the well being of wildlife changed as industrialization and urbanization advances?

 

In my investigation, I chose to experiment with new materials, which is something I was afraid to do previously. I also stepped away from 100% realistic representations to pieces that incorporate both realistic and abstract features. As I progressed, the backgrounds in my images became increasingly prominent and meaningful. The graduation from realistic to abstract backgrounds shows how the natural world has turned into a new, distorted artificial world.