SUZANNE STRYK

In this work in progress, I'm sculpting birds from print outs of their genetic sequences. Before starting, I consulted with a molecular ornithologist at the Cornell Ornithology Laboratory to find a website with avian genomes—those sequences of "ATGCs"—that I could download, print, tear into strips, and glue. I'm interested in how this "hard science" combines with the handmade birds to create a suggestive paradox. Even humor.

The finished birds perch on branches or hang—as if in flight—around my drawings. Some of these drawings are veiled. Some drawings hang on a black wall over which fly the genome birds. Part of this work includes a facsimile of an old naturalist's table, strewn with sketchbooks and specimens, over which roost the genomic birds. The assemblages are re-created for each new gallery space, so they will always change.

While scientists map the genomes of birds, birds themselves are disappearing in the wild. And as genetic studies reveal astonishing connections between all living things, our contemporary lives grow less connected to the natural world. These are some ideas I explore in this new work.