Max Flint | MA Fine Art Online Graduate Showcase

Project title:	Human Adaptations
Location:	New Jersey, US
Date(s):	21 July 2023

Artist Statement

Having grown up in a rural setting, animals and nature have always inspired my work. After acquiring my Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from St. Peter’s University, I went on to work in the non-profit sector where my commitment to human rights and activism began to blossom. My interest in sustainability and conservation, specifically restoration continues throughout my work today, and is present within my latest collection, Human Adaptations.

I view my artworks’ criticality, I consider my social stance, and I regularly practice ethical decision making through personally, economically, and environmentally sustainable strategies. I am an artist working across several mediums, including painting, drawing, performing, restoration, fabric, and sculpture. My practice is engaged around ideas including experimentation, creative problem solving, sustainability, nature, animals, audience engagement, performative practice, and environmentalism.

Animals have developed a necessary and extraordinary ability to adapt to their changing environments as a result of human invasion of their ecosystems and pollution. Human Adaptations is a project that has taken my practice beyond traditional painting, expanding my design skillset off the canvas, and focusing more on performative art and wearable sculpture, highlighting themes of adaptation, nature, sustainability, eco futurism, feminist science fiction, and conservation. This series is inspired by animals’ ability to adapt to their changing environments and is designed to relate the human body to the transformative nature of animals.

About the Project

Presented in a studio-turned-gallery space, Human Adaptations transported the live audience to different climates in an immersive experience, where they were given the opportunity to wear some of the handmade textile pieces during the private event. Each wearable sculpture was crafted using sustainably sourced materials drawing inspiration from the adaptability of animals. The audience was guided through the space on a journey explaining some of the effects of human invasion and animals’ abilities to react and adapt to these situations. Curated into the event were several performative readings outlining the intention of this collection and drawing from the feminist science fiction writer, Ursula K. Le Guin’s Buffalo Gals And Other Animal Presences highlighting the relationship between humans and animals. This collection was then made accessible to a broader audience in the form of a website.

Utilizing mostly recycled materials exemplifies my interest and focus in sustainability and conservation. By showcasing these pieces in an immersive environment, I focused my practice around my interest in world-making. The interactive components during the live event enhanced the themes of adaptation, transformation, and imagining something other. These themes were also made expressly clear to the audience during the performative readings. By working performatively, I was able to articulate the intention of this collection to the audience, which is to explore the relationship between humans and animals. This was inspired by John Berger’s work, Why Look At Animals? which expresses the importance of rebuilding the relationship between humans and animals by utilizing influence from animals’ natural reactions to humans.

Human Adaptations fits into the discourse of conservation and eco futurism, which argues that for sustainable practices to be incorporated into developing environments, there needs to be demonstrable benefits realized through a three-part lens of the economy, environment, and people. This collection takes inspiration from many artists, including Zadie Xa’s practice focusing on familial legacies, diasporic worlding, and especially interspecies communication and seeking guidance from animals. By researching animals’ ability to adapt to changing environments, I was intrigued by the idea of humans obtaining similar capabilities. Much like Rebecca Horn’s work, the pieces in this collection explore and expand the boundaries of the human body to reflect this adaptable nature.

Performative Readings