maya august palmer

Maya August Palmer is a traditional artist with focuses on ecology and realism currently an MFA candidate at Umass Dartmouth.

Artist Statement

My interest in biological systems and relationships stems from my background in Biology and Neuroscience. Interactions and relationships constitute the fabric of life from the cellular level to global ecosystems. Historically, the scientific method of Western science attempts to decontextualize and isolate parts of the whole to deconstruct how each part functions. Such is also the method used in much of scientific illustration. My exploration lies in recontextualizing scientific illustration by creating scientifically accurate paintings of various semi-urban organisms in their everyday habitats. Ironically, these recontextualized spaces are synthetic because they are constructed from synthetic material (dura-lar plastic) and exist in a gallery space instead of outside. By displaying the paintings on the floor, I am attempting to synthetically recreate the happenstance of discovering our communities’ ordinary and mundane relationships with the Microworld. The unprotected and vulnerable painting shares a space with the viewer, giving the work a distinct sense of presence and agency and the viewer a responsibility to not tread on the work. How aware are we of all who occupy it in our communities and society? Who is deserving of taking up space in the community? What is our human responsibility to others around us, including other people, non-human animals, plants, and other life forms? These are some of the questions I hope to pose in my work.