Donna Rudek

Monarch: Recycled Rebirth in the Face of Extinction

Inspired by: John Willis, Recycled Realities 1

recycled decorative tin and wire mobile

24” x 30”

2023

Willis’ work examines how recycled material can be used to highlight our destruction of our environment. Here I use repurposed metals to remind the viewer that we are destroying the environments of species by using GMO development of corn that allows farmers to destroy the butterfly’s food source. Monarchs are one of the most widely recognized symbols of the fifth mass extinction on our planet and a potent reminder that we have direct agency in this phenomenon.