Artwork copyright Markel Uriu. Photo courtesy of the artist, by Joe Freeman.

Artwork copyright Markel Uriu. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Everything Time Studio, 2021.

The Human Dimensions of Biotic Homogenization (Pangea Revisited), 2019

Markel Uriu
(American, born 1988)

Location: North Hill Elementary, Des Moines

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

The Human Dimensions of Biotic Homogenization (Pangea Revisited) by Markel Uriu maps out a global ecosystem. It is made of scanned and printed papers with a collection of species now present on all or most continents. Uriu has cut and woven the printed papers into an artwork that represents the emerging new world of invasive species, their environmental impacts, and their links to humanity, globalization, and colonialism. She notes, "With the increased movement of humanity, more and more organisms have moved with them. As a result, invasive species have contributed to drastic shifts in the landscape itself, creating physical manifestations of history and narratives of the people that move them."

The scanned images include the following invasive plants and animals: narrowleaf plantain, common mallow, common dandelion, chickweed, pigweed, American bullfrog, kudzu, Japanese knotweed, Himalayan blackberry, human, cat, European rabbit, common starling, brown rat, house mouse, zebra mussel, Asian clam, blue mussel, brown trout, rainbow trout, common carp, largemouth bass, pigweed, wild sage, water hyacinth, red swamp crayfish, grass, European sparrow, and horse tamarind.

This artwork is part of a curated collection by Asia Tail for North Hill Elementary, in Des Moines, Western Washington, in July 2021. The local art selection committee wanted art that reflects their diversity, their values as a sustainable green school, and the 5th grade experience of growth, togetherness, and transitions. The artworks show us that everything is connected. Asia Tail notes “Just as people shape the land, the land shapes us. How we treat our plant and animal relatives matters now and for all the generations that come next.”

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Highline School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Markel Uriu's artworks explore time, cycles, impermanence, the unseen, and cultural interchange. This led her to explore the nature of invasive species, their environmental impacts, and their links to humanity, colonialism, and globalization. Drawing from her Japanese and Irish-American heritage, she is also interested in "liminal spaces" where there is a transition from one thing or experience to another.

Uriu earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Whitman College, in Walla Walla, Southeastern Washington, in 2011. She was based in Seattle, Washington, from approximately 2014-2021 and was a member of the Lion's Main Art Collective for Queer and Trans Artists and SOIL Gallery (both in Seattle).