Denise Monaghan

“Since before we were Homo sapiens, humans have been seeking out spaces of darkness in which to find and make meaning” and that there’s “something seemingly paradoxical: that darkness might be a medium of vision, and that descent may be a movement toward revelation.” –Robert MacFarlane

Why animals? I am drawn to them because I feel the need for the clarity they bring in these uncertain times.  They have been our fellow travelers since the beginning. Their loving depictions on cave walls around the world speak of a time not long ago “when our worlds were not separated by the idea of human exceptionalism and duality between mind and body. We are part of this earthly stew, it is our teacher and our sustenance. 

I am especially drawn to the animals of the night.  Corvids and other black birds, owls, moths and wolves are repeated themes in my paintings. Darkness contains light, and the beauty of a fading world. Darkness is important, and we have created a crisis by using too much artificial light.  Light pollution confuses birds and other animals and also obscures the stars and milky way from out view. Artificial light is causing problems for all of us, especially for the creatures who depend on darkness to make a living or navigate using the stars.

There is plenty there for me to explore as a painter of wildlife, even in an ever shrinking pool of nature. For every wild animal alive today, we have eight people on earth.  The combined biomass of human beings and livestock outweigh all other animals, not including fish, but soon to follow.  That alone is alarming, and I wish to amplify that by focusing on these worlds that have been overlooked and often destroyed.