Kiwi Spring Diorama

ALTERNATIVE ENDING: DOMESTICATED BLISS by Emily Thomas

Dimensions: 304 x 216 x 50mm
Digital collage printed on glass & acrylic panels, mounted in wooden frames.

ALTERNATIVE ENDING: DOMESTICATED BLISS by Emily Thomas

-SPRING/SUMMER/AUTUMN/WINTER-

Scrambling the hands of time, Botticelli fertility goddesses are transplanted into idyllic 1960s New Zealand scenes. A fascinating decade when human inventiveness, in its ever-present desire to manicure and dominate nature, introduced many technologies that have had profound social effects. Intended and unintended.

The development of the contraceptive pill was the first time in human history that women gained goddess-like control over their own fertility, accelerating momentum in the feminist revolution. Space exploration ironically inspired enthusiasm for environmental movements when the first colour photographs of Earth from space provided perspective of our planet;s beauty and fragility. A majestic blue jewel suspended in an infinite black void. Advancements in air travel technologies fertilised the New Zealand tourism industry, which in turn created commercial value in promoting a clean-green
utopian national image. A cynical but effective motivation for supporting conservation efforts and protecting patches of our unique flora and fauna.

Today, the inadvertent (but hippy predicted) consequences of the post World War II consumer age are increasingly becoming apparent, pushing us to again ponder humanity’s recurring dilemma. Whether to put our faith into further technological advancement in the face of natures push-back, or to simplify our lives in surrender back towards a romanticised vision of society existing in harmony with the environment. If capitalism is the cause, can it also be the cure? Nature wont judge, she only offers trade-offs.

These scenes also ponder how market-driven meddling in selective breeding programmes and genetic engineering could change the fate of our beloved national icon, the endangered kiwi bird. Such abundance would be a wondrous conservation achievement - but is the petting, plumping and plucking a price the kiwi would be content to pay in exchange for the survival benefits of commercial domestication?

Postcards from a possibility, whispering “if we could, we would...”
...wouldn't we?

Thank you to my aunty Rochelle Vinsen who generously allowed me to feature her image. In her 1960s pop star heyday she toured town halls singing “My Boyfriend Got A Beatles Haircut” and “Ska Dee Daa Doo”. Recordings of which, through the marvels of modern technology, can be found on Spotify and YouTube. Some of her original 45 rpm records will be hiding in a few vintage vinyl collections.