Beatriz Chachamovits
Carcass
2020
Carcass is a hand built ceramic installation that approaches the theme of ocean degradation through the lenses of coral bleaching and plastic pollution. The work shows endangered coral species from the Florida Reef Tract such as Elkhorn, Staghorn, Pillar and Brain corals amongst others that are suffering a mass extinction due to human stressors. These sculptures are also surrounded by ceramic pieces of everyday trash elements that ends up in the ocean. Exhibited during the show Transitional Nature curated by Amy Galpin at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum. This exhibition draws from the collection of David and Laura Grey and includes works by artists such as Albert Bierstadt and Robert S. Duncanson as well as a series of contemporary interventions that connect the Hudson River School to the present. These contemporary works further reveal the urgency of environmental issues and the intrinsic power of the natural environment.
North America’s only barrier reef lies in our own backyard. It is the third largest barrier system in the world, and is home to over fifty species of corals and five hundred species of fish. However, over the course of the past 20 years, more than 50% of it died off for a variety of causes. Despite the proximity to this underwater marvel, a lot of people that comes to South Florida or even live here have never experienced marine life in person. The installation features 8 sculptures from the series What Remains is Fading Quickly that together forms a bleached, dead and exposed reef on top of a sand bed surrounded by plastic bottles, cigarette butts, lighters, plastic caps, toothbrush, cell phones and other litter forms all made out of ceramic.
