More from Marginalized: My Interdiscplinary Art Installation

As promised, here are the images from the two largest installation pieces of my Marginalized show. The show opens May 4th in Lynchburg, Virginia. More about this two woman show, which includes my animal installations and Terri J. Miller's 4th world women portraits, can be found in my last post.

The first installation piece is called Animanity. It's about our disconnection from the snake and our learned, often irrational fear of them. 

Animanity Installation by Amanda Corlies Sandos

The central quote is, "A Snake Lurks in the Grass" from Virgil's Aenied. The other quotes are from Milton's Paradise Lost, The Holy Bible, The Tao Te Cheng, and The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.

The second installation piece is called Humanimality, and it consideres the chimp. I chose to depict a cute and furry critter that we are no less disconnected from. Though chimpanzees are the species we now know as our closest living relative on earth, we still marginalize them, abuse them, and destroy their homes.

Humanimality Installation by Amanda Corlies SandosThe quotes included here are Charles Darwin's "with all [his] exalted powers, Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin." This is from The Descent of Man. I also chose two non-hierarchical quotes, one from Jane Goodall, and one from Dian Fossey which serve to show chimps as beings separate from and distinct from us who are no less deserving of respect than our fellow humans.

The two installations together with Miller's portraits of many indigenous women of the world create a powerful look at marginalization. I hope those of you who live in the area will come out on First Friday in May at the Soul Cafe in Lynchburg.

Don't forget to pop over to The Ravens Crossing to catch up on Sharon & Alex's story today. Sharon is about to face her father and stand up for her beliefs. Sparks fly. Literally. Don't miss it.

Here are a couple more of the individual images from each of the installations above for your enjoyment.

Eyelash Viper by Amanda Corlies SandosReticulated Boa by Amanda Corlies SandosNurture by Amanda Corlies SandosThe Missing Link by Amanda Corlies Sandos

Most of these works are for sale as individual pieces, or an installation can be purchased in its entirety. Several of the images are already sold, however, and will be replaced with different images for future installations. Feel free to contact me here for more information.

National Geographic Grants, Elephant Rescues, and Research

Today was a research day over at Creative Antics. I have three new stories in the works, and each requires very specific knowledge, some I am brushing up on, and some I am learning as I go. I love research. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen to write in my current career, and I certainly wouldn't have chosen the previous twenty years in a science career. Anyway, while I was tripping around the internet on a quest for knowledge, I spent some time over at National Geographic, and I found a couple links.

Dr. Krithi Karanth was awarded this year's National Georgraphic Grant today. A conservation biologist with Duke University, she will be looking at numerous human/animal conflicts in areas of India in an effort to save lives, both human and animal. Just two of the conflicts involves elephants and tigers. Karanth joins a prestigious list of grant recipiants, including Jane Goodall, Louis and Mary Leakey, and Jacques Cousteau, to name a few. You can read more about Karanth and her work here.

Here's a little interview with Karanth courtesy of National Geographic. 

And, while I'm on a National Geographic kick, you might also want to check out these pictures recently posted of a daring elephant rescue in Zambia. A mother and her calf were successfully extracted from a mud pit last month. I do love a happy ending, especially when it involves elephants!