Lynette K. Henderson

Artist Statement

I am primarily interested in animals, the beauty of their forms, various environments and the conflict between human impact on the earth and wildlife. The concepts of predator and prey usually attributed only to the animal world are also found within human nature, most of the time hidden from view. Unacknowledged as part of nature, humans tend to project themselves and their desired or imagined characteristics onto animals. Preserved in zoos, common to both rural and urban environments, the animals are considered by visitors to be either extraordinary, as pests or even despised rather than admirable, based on human perceptions/imaginings of the value of different species.

In some recent works I have focused on the vulnerability of animals and natural environments due to the threats of climate change, pollution and other contemporary environmental problems. In one series of paintings I have focused on the recently-uncovered phenomenon of DDT waste dumping that occurred in the mid-20th century, near the South Catalina island in the Pacific ocean off of the southern coast of California. Some artworks reference gothic icons that provide an elevated focus on the central figure, alongside images and objects that represent the carelessness of humanity in nature: crowded and polluted spaces that animals are forced to move around in as their designated living areas grow ever smaller. I believe that these issues are the greatest concerns for humans and animals alike at this point in time.