My painting Between Scylla and Charybdis, can be seen as a metaphor for our current state of affairs — socially, politically, and environmentally.

According to Homer, Odysseus was forced to choose which monster to confront while passing through the strait; he opted to pass by Scylla and lose only a few sailors, rather than risk the loss of his entire ship in the whirlpool. Because of such stories, having to navigate between the two hazards eventually entered idiomatic use. Another equivalent English seafaring phrase is, “Between a rock and a hard place”.

Theory of Evolution came about from an intuitive leap of imagination, in the progression of my ongoing paintings about plastic pollution as social commentary.

The title of the painting references the writings and ideas of Charles Darwin in his The Theory of Evolution, as well as the observations of his predecessor, Alexander von Humboldt as presented in his biography, The Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf.

Some years ago, I had the idea to make an abstract construction of discarded plastic green bottles, to place against the radiant sunset light on the beach where I live, and to show how plastic trash is overtaking nostalgic views of nature. However, when I recently made the abstract bottle construction for the painting, I noticed it resembled a creature that looked somewhat humanoid and somewhat reptilian while being neither, and that recognition intrigued me. I followed my intuition, and decided to pose this creature on the beach as if crawling proudly out from the seas of the future, a darkly humorous and ironic mutant creature deformed by manmade plastics and likely to replace all life on earth.

Though this painting’s message is dire, I paint the things that we humans make with beauty and attention to detail, as I respect and enjoy what we humans are capable of designing and creating, while at the same time are oblivious to our excesses and destructive affects on our own beautiful, nourishing, natural habitat, as well as the habitat of our fellow animals that share our miraculous planet with us. I love the way the northwest light glows through plastic or glass late in the day on the beach where I live, and I love the natural setting that I have been graced to live in, and strive to combine these loves in my paintings, as in Theory of Evolution.

Influenced by Pop Art of the 1960s, Karen Hackenberg (RISD, BFA) takes a humorous subversive approach to the serious subject of ocean degradation in her work. She meticulously paints in oil and gouache, crafting images of beach trash in beautiful seascapes, aiming to create a provocative collision of form and idea.

Her paintings were chosen for the Northwest Art Now biennial exhibition, Tacoma Art Museum, highlighting identity, social justice, and environment. Bainbridge Island Museum of Art hosted a solo show of her work, and her paintings are currently traveling in the international museum show, Environmental Impact II.

Her green sensibility has earned a place in the collections of NY State Museum, Portland Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, Washington State Art Collection, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, and Hallie Ford Museum of Art. She is currently featured in notable art magazines, LoDown, Berlin, Germany, and BlackBook, Brooklyn, New York.

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