MARLEN
2023
MARLEN X01, 2023
Plastic, resin, paint, methacrylate
24×39 mm / Unique
Switzerland is already immersed in climate change like many other places on the planet. It suffers extreme temperatures at certain times of the year and floods due to torrential rains, it could also lose all its glaciers in this century.
The entire Alpine country, and therefore Schwyz, will face more adverse weather conditions in the future.
Global warming may affect animals, plants and all living things in this Swiss canton.
In view of this scenario, we can imagine a utopian, probably dystopian, future where the boundary between what we currently think of as natural or artificial may become diffuse and shifting.
It is possible that in the future we will be surprised by bovines adapted to climate change and that the livestock fairs in Schwyz will continue to be a cultural asset as in the present, but also a surprising exhibition of the origin of new species.
Cows, a symbol of Swiss national identity, will be the epicentre of attention because of their unique evolution, determined by climate change, adaptation and human intervention. They will be more productive and resistant to heat stress as a result of the crossbreeding or genetic alteration.
These new animal designs, created in test tubes, will not be without some «minimal complications» in gestation associated with cloning technology.
However, the folly of the project idea should not be underestimated one iota, not to mention the underlying ethical issues.
MARLEN X02
MARLEN X03