Austrian artist Thomas Medicus has made an anamorphic cube sculpture titled the Human/Animal Binary. The cube is made out of 144 layers of painted glass; each side revealing a different animal native to Tyrol, Austria. A lynx morphs into a bee, which melts into a kingfisher that then transforms into a river trout. These seemingly “commonplace” animals were chosen as their lives have actually been severely affected by climate change. To further highlight the issue, underneath each animal, on the glass cube’s pedestal, is a text explaining the biodiversity crisis faced by each species—a harsh truth which makes them quite literally as fragile as glass.
The Human/Animal Binary reminds Austrians and people of the world that each living being is connected in an ecosystem where one cannot exist without the other. It then transforms into a powerful call to action by showing that today, these animals are facing biodiversity loss en mass. Their longevity now relies on human beings, who are no different from viewers of the artwork. This is why Human/Animal Binary is relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Climate Action, Life on Land and Life Below Water.
When the transforming glass animals show how they are connected, the piece’s title, “human-slash-animal,” alludes to how humans are also connected to these animals. Not separate as it was believed for centuries. This is why Human/Animal Binary was designed to be a public installation, made to withstand time and weather as a timeless reminder of humankind's connection with nature. “Human/Animal Binary was designed to last. One day, the installation will stand in a different social context: as a memorial that has come true or as a relic of a time that has been overcome,” said Medicus.
However, in an interview with designboom, Medicus also shared that to create this object that will last lifetimes, he had released one ton of CO2 into the air, which will take around fifty years for nature to bind. He wanted to share this as he had recently learned that only a maximum of two tons of CO2 should be released into the air per capita and year for all humanity to be climate neutral. This reality made him question if he should have made the sculpture in the first place, moot rhetoric since the damage had already been done.
Through the Human/Animal Binary, Thomas Medicus is raising the Austrian public’s awareness of the threatened species within their country’s borders. At the same time, it embodies a certain melancholia that comes from the seemingly futile individual efforts to make a difference in reversing the effects of climate change. Still, Medicus leads by example when he displays his sculpture for the public’s eye, showing that everyone can still choose to contribute, no matter how bleak things may seem.
Find out more about Human/Animal Binary by Thomas Medicus and their other pieces by checking his website www.thomasmedicus.at or Instagram @tomedicus.