Shelby Meyerhoff
Shelby Meyerhoff
ZOOMORPHICS STATEMENT, Exhibiting Artist for ACA's Integrated Cycles
In this series, I paint my own face and body, and photograph myself as creatures inspired by the natural world. The resulting images blur the line between what is human and what is not, drawing attention to our interconnection with all living things. Zoomorphics is an exploration of what it means to be human, to be an animal, and to love this world, even in the face of its destruction.
We humans are animals, dependent on our surrounding ecosystems. As those systems are threatened by climate change and other manmade crises, not only do other species face an existential threat, but we do as well. We are all endangered.
Yet despite the gravity of the environmental crises facing us, many of my Zoomorphics photographs are playful, colorful, and wondrous. I find beauty as well as grief in the relationship of humanity to the natural world.