Interdependence: Etchings & Aquatints by Julia Lucey

"While Americans celebrate their independence, this show is a collection of work that represents how North American wildlife celebrate their "interdependence". Everything in the natural world is connected - a community of living and non-living things that work together. Nothing can function without the system. In this body of work patterns are created within the plates and with them, wherein the juxtaposition of what is wild and what is fabricated becomes apparent. With each imprint upon the paper a piece that is more decorative than scientific is created. The animal becomes human decoration, the epitome of its natural form and spirit competing with how humans construct and replicate its inherent beauty in myriad ways. Etching is a perfect medium for this message. As systems are built, each species embosses the paper and creates a defined space as part of the whole. Layer after layer, each plate - species - is allowed to retain its separateness. Not independent but, rather, interdependent.  

Artist Bio: A resident of Fairfax, California, Julia Lucey got her BFA in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute and the inspiration for her art from her years spent backpacking and working in Wyoming and Montana. As an Artist-in-Residence at Kala Art Institute, Julia has focused on traditional etching techniques and aquatint to create images dealing with the evolving issues of wildlife, its dissolution, and the attempt by many to direct its path. She has exhibited her work throughout the United States.