Artist Statement 

“Man is an inveterate and incorrigible meddler, never content to leave anything as he finds it, always seeking to alter and – as he sees it – to improve.” -Christopher Lever

Unmanaged fragments of the non-human natural world are all around us. Is it possible to consider the unbridled offspring of human introduced plants and animals wild? If not, how should we define these familiar but ill-defined bastard cousins of what is conventionally called nature? This everyday version of nature, which I define as The Re-Natural Environment, is a conglomerate of alien and native species that have managed to remain, or reinsert themselves, in the interstitial spaces of the human-dominated landscape.

As the percentage of humans living in urban and suburban areas rise, our disconnection from the non-human natural world increases. This disconnection, when combined with the common belief that we are the ruling species, has led to environmental crises of overwhelming proportions. A solid understanding of our connection to the non-human natural world, in whatever form that takes, is a necessary first step in addressing these environmental problems. Without this basic connection, it will be difficult to inspire a significant percentage of the public to support actions that lead to living more sustainable lives.

In response to this situation, I provide opportunities for people to notice, find value in, and develop positive relationships with everyday fragments of wild nature. Projects that employ documented observations, public interventions, and participatory models of re-environmental programs materialize as exhibitions, sanctioned and unsanctioned public projects, websites, and multi-media presentations. Of particular interest are examples of our direct effect on the non-human natural world, how non-human nature is evolving to respond to our domineering presence, and ways to shift away from destructive models of interaction with the plants and animals that we encounter in our everyday lives.

In these various engagements with the Re-Natural Environment I am invested in expanding my art practice to engage the public in spaces sited both inside and outside of art institutions or art-specific contexts. I work to garner participation from audiences that are not necessarily acclimated to contemporary art practices. By adopting the role of facilitator of interaction, I attempt to create spaces that can best be described as alternate experiences of everyday situations. Within these spaces, the viewer/participant can begin to question their relationship to elements of unmanaged nature in the everyday environment.

-Brian D Collier