artist statement: diversity

Diversity (Sifnos, Greece)

Everywhere I looked, virtually nothing but rock. Bedrock and other slabs were visible here and there, but most of what surrounded me were individual rocks, boulders of all different shapes and sizes.The larger ones were huge, piled high above, forming walls and cliffs.

Looking more closely, I began to realize just how diverse the rocks were. I had never seen so many different kinds in one area, a real mixture of structural components, textures, shapes and colours. Apparently, the many individual types of rock that had been in the volcanic “soup” thousands of years earlier had all erupted at the same time, forming not only homogeneous rocks, but also heterogeneous boulders and slabs made up of the many different types. This was a geologists’ paradise.

The more I studied the terrain, the more I came to appreciate and realize what I was seeing. The many different kinds of rock that had spewed from the volcano had combined their own unique properties and qualities with those of the other types, to create together the strong, beautiful and cohesive landscape that is “Heronissos”. This is diversity at its finest. … Any lessons for humankind?


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