First Friday Virtual Exhibit
Zeraph Dylan Moore
Becoming Human
Artist statement
What does it mean to 'become human'? Like most of you, I was taught that being human was about the separation between human beings and nature - the things we could and did do that animals could not; that trees and plants could not. Certainly we were different from the wind, water, and sky.
If there is another way to be human, can we find it? Where will we find it? In our wild selves, or in our quietness? Looking not down upon, but horizontally toward nature, we see its intelligence.
We might notice the brilliance of trees in the way they bring up the water from the soil to the tips of their branches. We could marvel at the gifts given to the smallest animals: Quick and nearly invisible, yet everywhere. We are surrounded by living, breathing intelligences. It is not too late for us to notice.
The problems of human destruction of nature are not only technical problems. They are problems of being and seeing.
In these strange times of pandemic, we find ourselves subject to the predation of nature's tiniest beings and are reminded and humbled. We are not at the top of the pyramid of being - we are not who we have imagined we were. In this time, we can step into a quietness, a watchful wondering, that invites us back into our deep selves.
From this moment, as from every moment, we can become human
Artist Bio
Zeraph Dylan Moore is a Maine-based mixed-media abstract artist obsessed with texture, subtle tonal shifts and brilliant color. His work incorporates acrylics, textured paper, inks, gold and silver leaf, canvas strips and embroidery. In some works, copper scrap is repurposed, shaped, cut and enameled in a kiln, then sewn to the canvas.
In his work, Dylan explores the colors and textures of ecologies, from the coastal estuaries of Maine to the red sandstone formations of Arizona to the green coastal marshes of the Mississippi delta. Dylan is well-travelled across the United States by car, bicycle, and train and has been visually inspired by many diverse ecologies and landscapes encountered there.
Most recently, his work draws from the colors and textures of estuaries, beaches and the intertidal zone. This continues a lifelong fascination with “in-between” and changeable biomes such as marshes, swamps and tidal pools.
Dylan experiences a neuro-immune metabolic illness called CFS/ME (chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis). This disease changed his life radically, resulting in a deeper investment in art, spirituality, and simply being present. He has documented his experiences with ME/CFS and his healing path through writing published across the web.
