THE MODERN LIFESTYLES: AMPHIBIOUS CASUALTIES

“Extinction is silent and has no voice other than our own.” – Paul Hawken, environmentalist

Venezuelan artist, Aisen Chacín, is widely known for the digital images that make up her conceptual-multimedia art installations. The artworks create argumentative displays of worldwide issues portrayed through alluring yet innocent visions of compassion. Behind every project, there is a deep analytical and psychological research as Chacín works hand in hand with organizations and the subjects of her works. It is through the artistic conceptualization of these coarse realities that society’s most vulnerable groups are divulged.

Having color similarities to the “old-school” chalkboards, In The Rough: A Tour of Geometric Ecology aims to create consciousness on the possible extinction of marine turtles. With white material on the green of Dorado Beach Resort’s golf course, Chacín drew the geometric patterns formed on the shells of marine turtles that nest on the shores of Puerto Rico. The juxtaposition of these three drawings portrayed a type of pilgrimage that vanished with time due to the artwork’s ephemeral aspect, representing the future extinction of this vital specie.

In an interview with Aisen Chacín, “Unambiguous About The Amphibious”, the artist and golfer explains in depth the connotative word play of golf terminology on the title:

“In golf, the term “rough” identifies a part of the course where the grass is much more abundant. It also identifies the hardships turtles are going through in this century. The term explains how our modern lifestyle has inflicted severe ecological changes that have affected them as marine specie. The idea of the “tour” is to walk through the holes in the course and find a variety of geometric patterns inspired by the designs and protuberances that turtles have on their shells.”

“Try to be like the turtle, at ease in your own shell.” –  Bill Copeland, poet

It is no foreign fact that our impact on the environment seems to be abrogating three out of seven types of marine turtles, an amphibious specie that has been around for more than 150 million years. The truth is that “even in ‘natural’ conditions, few turtles survive their first year”. In fact, it is estimated that one out of a million turtles reach the maturity age for coitus [14 years] and thus, reproduction. For, once hatched, newborn marine turtles are left to face a variety of predators from the nest to the ocean. Nonetheless, apart from natural phenomenons, society’s modern lifestyle has generated a quick and vast deterioration in their ecological communities.

Regardless of the adversities, there are many organizations worldwide that promote the aiding of marine turtles such as Chelonia in Puerto Rico with Proyecto Tinglar, where they provide informative tours around the nesting sites of Leatherbacks and Hawksbills. Marine turtles are part of two vital ecosystems: Beaches and marine systems. The un-hatched and leftover-hatched eggs serve as nutrients for dune vegetation and once they are living in the ocean, jellyfishes are added to their diets. Mainly, turtles are actively influential for our personal enjoyment of all maritime activities.

As a mother and an artist, Chacín educates in a way that allows one to step out of the comfort zone and realize all the controversy the world is faced with daily. The casualties of being alive in the modern world create devastating social issues that are deteriorating society’s empathy for the vulnerable. Only by ignoring the abuse, the idea of loosing vital species will aggravate and affect the world in ways society has yet come to understand. It is through conscious callings on the topics in hand that Aisen Chacín’s work transcends recognition once again by demonstrating those who are in need as well as aiding in the development of common sense and empathy for the future of a healthy society.

Curatorial text for the installation for arte_FITS.Foundation’s Art in Golf Triennial 2015.