Adapting is a process that happens naturally over tens of thousands of years, and happens within just about every species known on Earth. But what if every species in an area was forced to adapt over a shorter span? What would that look like?
This painting explores this idea, which I think really needs a whole series of works (hopefully to come later). But if cacti have to adapt to hold out water what would happen? If cars became useless would boats suffice? How plants and animals as well as humans would adapt in a natural crises like floods or major droughts, really any natural disaster, is interesting to me. Which species would survive? Would porcupines natural defense of spikes benefit them in the case of living in a sea of water? Obviously probably not, they would need to adapt and develop a better defense from predators, like having turbines for feet!
If the idea of cities being under water or places drying up seems impossible you might want to rethink that. Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, which isn’t permanent but ocean levels rising could put cities permanently under water.
As for drying up, there were hundreds of wild fires across the western U.S. last year. Why are lakes and rivers west of the Rocky Mountains drying up? California has been having water issues for a decade, at least, so what happens when Colorado starts using more water as our population booms? Less for California... and their growing population.
“Adaptation”
2017 (48”x48”) acrylic on canvas