Award-winning artist Jose Snook portrays a chilling vision of a present and future in which extinction rates of animals and plants gathers pace.
Her photographic creations show critically endangered creatures enclosed in ice.
It is not too far from reality. A network of “frozen zoos” stores genetic material – mainly reproductive cells – from threatened species at very low temperatures in liquid nitrogen.
Jose’s images will go on show in an exhibition titled In Memoriam, from October 12 – November 28 at Bailiffgate Museum in Alnwick in Northumberland.
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“In Memoriam is about loss and about the unfolding ecological catastrophe of extinction of species caused by Man. It is a rapid phase of extinction,” said Jose, who lives in north Northumberland.
The exhibition is in two parts. Resurrection looks at frozen zoos, drawing attention to endangered species and the causes of species loss, while considering the issues and ethics of animal bio-banks and cryo-conservation.
“Frozen zoos have been set up to provide a back up for endangered species. One way is to add genetic diversity to species whose numbers are very low,” said Jose.
“More problematic is the idea of resurrecting of extinct species.”
“In Resurrection I have made work through which I could express feelings of loss and despair, while also offering some hope,” said Jose.
Imposters explores how species are replaced with artificial replicas, from images to models.
The trigger for Imposters came from Jose’s recollection of a holiday park in the Lake District.
“Their daffodils bloomed too early for the tourist season and so to avoid disappointing visitors they planted hundreds of plastic ones,” said Jose.
“This horrified me and since then I have been fearful of us becoming content to accept imposters, rather than face the fragility of the natural world, and to fight for its survival.
“I have become increasingly concerned that faith in science means we fail to take immediate action to prevent ecological catastrophe.
“There seems to be a belief that sometime in the future science will reverse the damage of climate change and ecological disaster.
“We keep kicking the can down the road and I desperately hope that the Cop 26 climate change conference will change that.”
Jean Humphrys, chair of trustees at Bailiffgate, said ‘We are thrilled to be hosting this new exhibition by Jose. Her images are always exquisite: taking her many hours to create using a variety of processes and techniques.
“Her themes, as ever, are very current – she explores the climate crisis and the ongoing mass extinction of species in her unique and evocative style.
“ The images are both stunning and challenging and focus attention on the future of our planet.’
- Bailiffgate is open Tuesday to Sunday: Adults £4; Concessions £3; Children 5-16 £1; Under 5s free; Friends free.
