Marina Zurkow: Gila 2.0
Photo by Nettrice Gaskins magazine.art21.org
Title:
- Gila 2.0
Artist(s) and People Involved:
Exhibiting Artist(s):
Symposium:
Artist Statement:
Gila 2.0 visual signage is displayed at the Gila Wilderness trailheads or roadside, and in other graphical formats. The focus of the signage is the reintroduced Mexican Wolf, centrally positioned in the nature/culture debate that arises when interests (non human as well as human) intersect. Seen either as the endangered poster child for native wilderness or as a competing predator, the Mexican Wolf coexists with landowners, livestock, game hunters, pets, and ecotourists. The signage leverages native “prehistoric” Mimbres/Mogollon designs -the animistic and geometric pottery that has become a graphic signature for the Southwest- and uses tracking data gathered from the radio-collared wolves, in order to visualize the complex set of relationships that comprise a contemporary ecosystem.
