This raging bulldozer called humankind created a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, and a new age, The Great Acceleration. Our acceleration leaves us unhearing most languages spoken around the world therefore most knowledge, that of non-human species. Beginning in the 1950s, this new geologic epoch is defined by human alterations on/of/in the earth. We move and disrupt earth’s occurring systems to build sub/urban systems, disrupting and destroying knowledge systems.

 We value responses of non-dominant species, those seen as non-intelligent and non-important by the majority of the human population as indicated by a disregard for their well-being outside of what serves human needs and prosperity. We pose the question, “Can we Un-Anthropocene? Can we un-remake the earth?”, to trees in the parks, to the bugs on the sidewalk, to dogs on leashes, to cats in windows, to birds, and to bees. These non-human species have immense interconnected intelligence and we listen to their wisdom in a seemingly futile attempt to forge the sort of connection that can change the course of human destruction. 

 These photos are evidence of The Un Lab's experiments. As they migrate in/with the Albatross Gallery we hope they will prompt others to listen more fully to non-human species, as perhaps this action alone has some power to slow the Great Acceleration.

Emily Bivens was raised in southern Louisiana.  Her childhood bedroom was set apart from her family on the far side of an old house under which a large colony of armadillos would root and cavort all night. She studied biology later switching to art when she realized that there are limits to what science can explain. She has had exhibitions and performances in festivals, museums, galleries and washaterias.

Bivens is the recipient of the 2019 Ann and Steve Bailey Opportunity Grant and 2019 Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship. Individual work has been shown at Skulpturens Hus, Stockholm, Sweden, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO, Temple Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA and DEMO project in Springfield, IL.  Her collaborative work with The Bridge Club has been presented at Press Street for Prospect 3+, New Orleans, LA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, CA, The Texas Biennial, San Antonio, TX, Currents: The Santa Fe International New Media Festival, Santa Fe, NM and the Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX.   Bivens received her BFA from Colorado State University and her MFA from the University of Colorado in Boulder.  She is an Associate Professor of 4D and Time-Based Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

Rae Goodwin works with intimacy, risk and therefor vulnerability as her main material. She is also deeply concerned with maternal ancestry as it influences the construction of identity, assumptions of strength and notions of agency. Individual Grandmothers in our society, after a whole life they are seen thru the lens of their role or perceptions of their archetype and vastly undervalued. When she asks people about their own grandmothers many confess they do not know her first name, how she grew up, nor her favorite music. Many people do not wonder about her until after she has passed. The absence in presence and presence in absence of this grandmother figure in the social lives of families, leads Goodwin to think about relationships, relationality and vulnerability. Often this is conveyed through archetypal or sentimental gestures, materials and interactions between Rae and the viewer/participant.

Rae Goodwin lives and works in Lexington, Kentucky. Her art has been exhibited widely and performed at/with the Queens Museum, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, McColl Center for Visual Art, La Pocha Nostra, Dimanche Rouge in Paris, LIVESTOCK in Dublin, defibrillator gallery, Panoply Performance Laboratory, The Brick Theater in Brooklyn, Grace Exhibition Space, Rosekill, grüntaler9, Satellite Art Show, BIPAF and MPAB festivals and many other venues. She earned an MFA from Winthrop University and a BA in Studio Art from Framingham State University. Rae Goodwin is also a Professor of Art Studio at the University of Kentucky.

Emily Ward Bivens, www.emilywardbivens.com

Rae Goodwin, www.raegoodwin.com

Instagram handle @the_un_lab