Withering Connections
The following project titled 'Withering Connections' was made as part of a college assignment. It aims to explore human life in two aspects - its length and its width. In terms of its length, I
have concentrated on the impermanence and insignificance of our race. I wanted to diminish the egocentric thoughts that we humans feed on - the simple notion that our race is most supreme. We are always looking for ways to increase our lifespans; we are constantly on the hunt for immortality. We think we can find ways to exist on this Earth forever, but the truth is that we cannot tamper with the order of the Universe.
Every few thousand centuries, the Universe reshuffles its deck and new species take over the planet. The pattern has been constant for the history of our Universe and will remain the same. Species have ruled the Earth, and new ones have taken over after them. Some day, even we will be wiped out from the face of the Earth, and when that day comes, we will be able to do nothing about it. Nothing can change the impermanence of this existence.
The second part of this project talks about the width of the human life, which refers to the quality of the life that we live. For surviving harmoniously with different species on this planet, our interaction with them is very important. We put ourselves on a pedestal and think that we are the most supreme race and in the process, disregard and disrespect other species. As humans, we cannot isolate ourselves from other species. If we do so, we will not be able to survive.
When we create differences such as hierarchies, castes, systems, divisions and societies in general, we find more ways to separate ourselves from others. This leads to destructive behaviour, which makes us exist as a controversial and conflicting crowd. We must blur the lines between humans and other species, as well as destroy all barriers that we have created within own race to live harmoniously on this planet.
The footprints represent one half of the concept - the length of life. The footprints were concentrated on one end on the paper and started fading out towards the other end. This was done to show the impermanence of human life. The red footprints were made to be more dominating as they represented the rise and take-over of a new species. This was also meant to be a humbling reminder of our insignificance.
The illustrations represent the second half of the concept - the width, or quality of life. They were made on tracing paper to visually represent the connection between the two aspects. The illustrations are made like in the form of a progression. It starts out with a simple human face, with no other element in the drawing. This looks quite basic and simple, which shows the lack of quality of life when there is no interaction with other species. This is also an indication that humans cannot exist in an isolated environment.
As the illustrations progress, the illustrations start showing interaction and thus, a better quality of life. The progression and enhancement of life can be seen visually through these illustrations.
Fin.
