Genus/species
Genus/species is a body of work that explores the role that naming, labeling and language plays in our lives, cultures and identities.
Since the dawn of speech, names have been used for identification - tracking bloodlines and familial, historical and cultural connections. Humans have always sought to witness and characterize the existence of other beings, to frame our own lived experiences in the context of these ‘others’. But there has also always been a dark side to the labelling of others: assigning stigma and judgement, and even attempting to dehumanize individuals, groups and entire cultures.
Invisible wounds to the psyche can do just as much damage as the more visible injuries of the flesh. And unlike skin, some of them never completely heal.
Words that have been weaponized linger throughout history—censored but nevertheless pervasive. These condemning words stigmatize those who are different, marginalize those who need uplifting, dehumanize populations whose needs are inconvenient to those in power.
In 1735, Carl Linnaeus published “Systema Naturae”; his system for identifying and classifying the natural world, still in use today.
In lieu of other names or labels, the models in this series are identified by the taxonomic names of the flowers they hold, opening a dialogue about whether or not the sitter should also be named or identified in any way. Would doing so shift our perceptions? How would naming or labeling them change our perception of what we see?
The assumption that a viewer could know anything about the personal identity of the subject just by looking at a photograph is a false one. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but that is not to say that we all know or agree on what those words might be, or that it is our place to decide.
