Art Exhibition Explores Change and Interconnectedness

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – the artwork of printmaker Emmy Lingscheit, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign art professor, examines human entanglements with the habitat, deep time and how social justice and ecological justice are intertwined.

Her lithographs, comics and zines include images of the changes in a landscape over millennia; displaced migrants, both human and animal; livestock and bees loose on a freeway after a traffic pileup; and the extraordinary spectacle of a solar eclipse.

The University YMCA is hosting an exhibition of Lingscheit’s work. “Contingencies: Navigating a World of Accelerating Change” will be on view until Oct. 3. Lingscheit will speak about her work at a reception on Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m.

The exhibition focuses on work that speaks to change – climate change; social changes, such as instability in the economy, politics and public health; and how individuals and communities rely on one another, as well as on connections with various species, such as pollinators, for wellbeing. The title, “Contingencies,” refers to “anticipating, planning, being nimble, traveling light through time and trying to leave as small a footprint as possible while looking out for each other,” Lingscheit said.

She said she hopes her work calls attention to environmental justice and social justice issues, such as the way climate change is disrupting weather patterns and food supplies, and the way policy changes are altering the social fabric in terms of things such as public health.

“I feel an affinity with the printmaking history of artists engaging with those issues – social movements, lifting people out of poverty, oppression and discrimination, advocating for clean air and water,” she said. “I strive to be political in a subtle way.I want to draw people in with something that is visually lush and has a coded narrative for people of all ideologies.Maybe they see something that piques their curiosity in an image, and it shifts their viewpoint.”

Lingscheit made “Timepiece” during a residency in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Lingscheit had a residency in St. John’s, Newfoundland, last summer, where the coastal area and its long history of seafaring, fishing and oil industry production resulted in two prints that are in the exhibition. The central image in “Timepiece” is an iceberg, encapsulating thousands of years of ice. It hovers above a giant oil tanker at the bottom of the print, which is leaking oil upward.

The image shows an inverted timescale,moving upward from the oil tanker to a commercial fishing boat,a sailing ship from the golden age of exploration,a Viking ship and finally Indigenous canoes near the tip of the iceberg. It speaks to the intersections of time and culture and the consequences o

Emmy Lingscheit’s Art Explores Queer Reproduction and Deep Time

Published: 2025/09/11 04:03:09

Artist Emmy Lingscheit blends biology, queer theory, and geological time scales in a striking exhibition at the Krannert art Museum. Their work challenges conventional understandings of reproduction and offers a viewpoint on life’s resilience through the lens of deep time. The exhibition, running through December 7, 2024, features prints and installations that invite viewers to reconsider the natural world and our place within it.

Challenging Heteronormative reproduction

Lingscheit’s art directly confronts the dominant narrative of reproduction as solely heterosexual and binary. Their prints, like “Queer Reproduction III: Twenty Thousand Sexes,” depict a diverse range of reproductive strategies found in nature, moving beyond the typical male-female paradigm. This challenges the assumption that reproduction is limited to specific biological configurations.

Beyond the Binary

The artwork highlights the incredible diversity of reproductive methods in the natural world. From plants that reproduce asexually to animals with complex mating rituals and fluid gender roles, Lingscheit demonstrates that reproduction isn’t a simple, binary process. This exploration aims to broaden our understanding of life and challenge societal norms.

Deep Time and Ecological Resilience

Alongside the exploration of queer reproduction, Lingscheit’s work also delves into the concept of deep time – the immense timescale of geological history. This perspective provides a crucial context for understanding life’s ability to adapt and endure.

Geological Layers and Extinction Events

Two prints, “Occupied Land” and “Longitudinal Study,” visually represent this deep time. “Occupied Land” layers cross-sections of the Central Illinois region across vast geological periods, illustrating continental drift, landscape changes, and the evolution and extinction of species.”Longitudinal Study” maps major extinction events, including the Permian-Triassic extinction event (the Great Dying), which wiped out a critically important portion of life on Earth.

Lingscheit notes that visualizing the Earth’s regenerative capacity over such long timescales offers a sense of comfort. Despite catastrophic events,life persists and evolves.

Key Takeaways

• Lingscheit’s art challenges the heteronormative view of reproduction by showcasing the diversity of reproductive strategies in nature.
• the work utilizes the concept of deep time to provide a broader perspective on life’s resilience and adaptability.
• The exhibition encourages viewers to reconsider their understanding of the natural world and our place within it.
• The prints “Queer Reproduction III: Twenty Thousand sexes,” “Occupied Land,” and “Longitudinal Study” are central to the exhibition’s themes.

Emmy Lingscheit’s exhibition is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of life, the fluidity of biological processes, and the enduring power of nature. As we face ongoing environmental challenges, their work offers a vital perspective on resilience and the potential for renewal.Future explorations of this intersection between art, biology, and geological time promise to further enrich our understanding of the world around us.