Human Duality Artwork Showcase and Author Interpretation
My creation, titled Human Duality, depicts the juxtaposition of a diver admiring a small fish in pristine blue ocean water, and pollution surrounding a factory owned by a large corporation. My inspiration behind the wark was a diver and ocean photographer Álvaro “Mekan” Herrero. As a fellow photographer, I truly resonated with his work and fascination with nature; Herrero is someone who, I feel, exemplifies the famous adage “a picture is worth a thousand words.” His work and passion for photography has given the world stunning images of some of the world’s most uncontaminated and pristine environments. He is both motivating the world to protect these natural wonders, as well as leaving a record behind for future generations. He is preserving the world that we are losing bit by bit every single day- a moment in time, of a subject whose fading beauty is eternally captured through his lens.
The entire piece is encompassed within a “yin-yang” motif to represent the complicated relationship between necessity and excess, purity and pollution. Much of my work was inspired by Herrero’s past work and photography; for example, Herrero’s picture of three divers descending into “The Blue Abyss” (Cenote Sac Actun, Mexico) was what inspired the circular “yin-yang” concept, and his image “Clownfish” showed me that even the smallest of fish can make the most beautiful and meaningful pieces.
Throughout the creation process, I used multiple different in-game Minecraft sculpting tools to place “blocks” in random or specific patterns, with many smaller details being hand-crafted. Elements such as the lighting and shading were done manually on a block-by-block basis, ensuring that the overall work was illuminated properly. This process also shares much commonality with traditional sculpting techniques, such as creating a skeleton armature for the diver, or creating separate components before grafting them into the overall build.
Some key details I wanted to emphasize are the smokestacks, the “LCD” display in the top left, soda can, and drill. The smokestacks are one of the most obvious aspects of the sculpture, and are spewing pollutants into the air causing acid rain as well as ocean acidification, making water inhospitable for numerous species. The LCD reads ROXXON, which is a fictional mega-corporation from the Marvel Comics universe. I wanted to reference what I view as the epitome of capitalism and direct cause for much of the ocean destruction today, without explicitly naming a real-world company. In the water, I included a larger soda can as it falls through the brown water, representing the countless amounts of everyday trash and garbage thrown into the ocean daily. Having said that, the respective dots of the yin and yang represent that good exists within evil and evil exists within good – complementary halves of a whole. The uses for oil in the modern world are so necessary for human life that, while it pollutes our oceans, modern society would not exist without it.
Industrial “polluted” left hand side of art piece
Organic “vibrant” right hand side of art piece
The right portion of the sculpture is the “good” or conservation aspect of the build. It includes the diver and a garibaldi, one of my favorite species from the nearby Monterey Bay for its heart shaped tail. I wanted the diver to almost push back the wave of pollution coming from the oil rig as she admires the small fish, and the bubbles, coming from her regulator and flowing upwards, mirror the flow of the pollution downwards as they blend together. I also included a large bull kelp, a key species of the local aquatic ecosystem. Finally, in the top right corner, the opposite of smoke stacks is depicted, windmills representing clean power sources. The center for this half of the yin and yang would be the diver herself. Her regulator, equipment, and mask are all made with materials sourced from large corporations. Almost all dive gear is manufactured using unsustainable materials or processes like plastics, which are the only materials that can withstand the water pressures of deep sea diving. The act of diving itself, if not done responsibly, can damage or destroy the ecosystems that the diver is admiring – again, the balancing act of yin and yang.
My final reflections on this piece are both excitement and some sadness. Admiring Hererro’s stunning photographs, I am inspired by the beauty of the oceans and feel the need to protect the fragile ecosystem that is our planet. At the same time, we must prepare for a point of no return, a day where our planet might be overwhelmed and these images are all that is left of that beauty. It is this balance that ultimately inspired the yin and yang on this piece, and I want the viewers of Human Duality to feel the same way.
