abbey-mills.com

Life in the Dead Season

As an artist, I emphasize the imagined barrier between humans and nature, highlighting how we are not as alien as we try to be from our environment. Using my experiences growing up in rural New Hampshire, I replicate the signs of life as they appear on the winter landscape. The seasons' muted palette and snow cover demystify how different species move through the world and demonstrate nature’s sovereignty. Through a multi-media approach using found materials, I share my findings with a viewer to highlight our participation as members of the ecological community.

Through minor manipulations of found materials and traditional painting mediums, I highlight the ways different species interact with the forest and how the narrative of human supremacy has shaped the landscape. My work shows parallels between the ways non-humans and humans move through and use resources from the land. This is contrasted with visuals of human privatization of land and how it has shaped the forested landscape. I intend to bring awareness of the self-imposed hierarchy to encourage a viewer to consider how humans affect the environment.

Bio

Abbey Mills is an oil painter based in southern New Hampshire. Growing up in a rural town on the border of the Sunapee and Monadnock regions, she has adopted a close relationship to the wilderness that comes through in all aspects of her life and practice. She gets the most inspiration when exploring new places (with some help from iNaturalist). In addition to painting, she is an avid bushwacker, gardener, tidepooler, fiber crafter, and dog walker.