New Nature for Animal Reuse, Co-Lab Austin

New Nature, an exhibition by Austin-born Calder Kamin, opens this Saturday, June 2. “Fabricated ceramic fauna” and collected trash enliven Co-Lab’s exhibition space. The artist will also walk guests through the nearby neighborhood to collect trash to make trash nests for “Think Like a Bird”—this is bird architecture.

Calder Kamin

Projects like “Think Like a Bird” are meant to “remove trash from a site and transform it for animal use.” Through this endeavor, the artist hopes to reinterpret our relationship with waste and nature.

Kamin says she is, “interested in synanthropes- animals that thrive due to mankind’s impact on biodiversity.” She continues, “Urbanization has been detrimental to many species, but it has also accelerated adaptations and successful symbiosis in some animals living amongst humans. I celebrate the creative effects of our influence on nature in addition to concerning myself with the negative.”

Watch video below by the artist about her work and process to learn more about synanthrope behavoirs.

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