Heather Beardsley

After Ernst II (2017) acrylic gel medium, laser prints, embroidery 7 x 7 x 0.5 in. This work is inspired by Ernst Haeckel’s illustrations, lithographs and drawings that blur the lines between art and science. In his time these prints were ubiquitous, their presentation of a natural world whose forms can be ordered, understood and, most importantly, improved upon took deep root in pre-War Western culture. Haeckel’s firm belief that all organisms were made up of geometric crystalline structures that could be perfected through evolution caused him to exaggerate and idealize the organisms he representations. This ideological quest for perfection…