Miranda Maher
Infestation Horizontal 1 : abstract work of art on paper
2023-2024

About the Item

An artwork on paper by New York artist Miranda Maher. Black archival ink on pale blue archival paper with historical Audubon images of American birds, mounted on Arches paper. Miranda Maher’s artistic journey is a profound exploration of discrepancies, mistakes, and the intricate web of lies that shape our perceptions. Maher delves into societal self-deceptions surrounding the discourses of violence, femininity, and our relationships with animals and nature. Working in series, components, or repetitions, Maher rejects the notion of encapsulating her complex thoughts and feelings in a singular artwork. Instead, she treats each series as an individual project. In her recent ink work, where marks sprawl across numerous pages, Maher seeks to comprehend consciousness, awareness, and the fleeting nature of a moment in time—a poignant reflection on the inexorable passage of time. The artist’s creative process has recently focused on the profound act of making a mark on paper with ink. Maher ingeniously combines it with elements that transcend the immediate moment, integrating it with astronomical diagrams and 19th-century photographs. The result is a visually striking, intellectually stimulating body of work that invites viewers to contemplate the layers of meaning embedded within each piece. The “Infestations” series explores the concept of infestation, challenging the human tendency to label certain species as vermin based on subjective judgments. Maher questions the human perspective that deems a species undesirable, obstructive, or lacking beauty. The series combines the artist’s meditative ink line-shapes with edited prints of predominantly birds of prey sourced from Audubon’s nineteenth-century catalog of American birds. The artwork invites viewers to consider whether either element could be perceived as an infestation of the other, highlighting the inherent bias in human perceptions and tendencies to categorize certain species as culprits.

Creator:

Miranda Maher

Creation Year:

2023-2024

Dimensions:

Height: 19 in (48.26 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)

Medium:

Paper,Ink,Archival Paper

Movement & Style:

Abstract Expressionist

Period:

2010-