About:

CV

Instagram: @ratsarenotgross

Bio:

I am a conceptual artist and a scientist. These are not separate pursuits, but twin lenses I use to explore human behavior and the ways we form ideas of place, identity, and belonging in relation to one another and the natural world.

This pursuit springs from lived experience. I was born in Hawaii, raised in New Mexico, and spent the summers of my youth in Vermont – moving among distinct ecologies and ways of being. Growing up across cultures and regions, I learned to recognize differences while also sensing the threads that tie us together.

My work reflects on this tension and balance. I explore the connections among people, animals, plants, and landscapes, and how we use those connections to understand the world. I aim to foster empathy not only for one another but for the living world around us. I ask: Can we imagine coexistence rooted in care instead of control?

I have a BFA in studio art, and a PhD in anthropology. I have shown my work in galleries across the United States.

Statement:

As humans, we have an unparalleled ability to shape and control our physical environment. We allow plants and animals into our lives but only in limited, controlled ways. We surround ourselves with manicured landscapes and domesticated pets, while we destroy fragile ecosystems and drive untold numbers of species to extinction. When we benefit from the natural world, we embrace it. When it encroaches on our comfort, we destroy it. Through photography, sculpture, and print, my work captures the exploitation and concomitant destruction of the natural world and uses it as a metaphor for our treatment of one another.

Shop Info:

Please send me a message for information on buying my primary artwork (i.e., the images you see on this website).

For small works, greeting cards, stickers, pins, etc., please visit my Etsy shop. For wholesale orders, please visit my Faire shop.

All writing and images are copyright Jessica Marie Gross. All rights reserved.