Natural Selection

Maysen Baxter ‘24

My body of work is built around the concept of human corruption and how that can be demonstrated through animals. I explored the concept of "Social Darwinism," which identifies the powerful people within society as "innately better." This term is commonly compared to the natural selection that occurs in the primal world; thus, I titled the work "Natural Selection.” By isolating the crow with the only available water, I create an environment that examines themes of unequal distribution. Overall, the work acts as a visual metaphor for an unequal society.

This piece depicts a innocent baby deer hiding in some bushes or leaves, highlighted in a seemingly glowing light. This represents a childlike innocence, or even joy, that is being hidden, similar to bambi. The textured handmade paper creates a complementing background to the dry point print with the marbled colors.