Artist Statement

Gila 2.0 visual signage is displayed at the Gila Wilderness trailheads or roadside, and in other graphical formats. The focus of the signage is the reintroduced Mexican Wolf, centrally positioned in the nature/culture debate that arises when interests (non-human as well as human) intersect. Seen either as the endangered poster child for native wilderness or as a competing predator, the Mexican Wolf coexists with landowners, livestock, game hunters, pets and eco-tourists. The signage leverages native “prehistoric” Mimbres/Mogollon designs – the animistic and geometric pottery that has become a graphic signature for the Southwest – and uses tracking data gathered from the radiocollared wolves, in order to visualize the complex set of relationships that comprise a contemporary ecosystem. (Silver City).

• Marina Zurkow is a media artist focused on near-impossible nature and culture intersections, researching “wicked problems” like invasive species, superfund sites, and petroleum interdependence. She is a full time faculty member at ITP / Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, USA.   o-matic.com