#michael wang

Michael Wang, “Extinct in the wild” project 

in the pictures: Ambystoma Mexicanum (aka: Axolotl, Assolotto, Pesce camminatore del Messico) extinct in the wild - 2014 / Brighamia insignis (aka: Ululu, Alula) extinct in the wild - 2014 /  Epalzeorhynchos Bicolor (aka: Labeo bicolor) extinct in the wild - 2013

seen @fondazioneprada, Extinct in the wild, Milano 2017

“Extinct in the Wild”, conceived by American artist Michael Wang (1981), brings together flora and fauna that are no longer found in nature, but persist exclusively under human care, within an artificial habitat. Labelled with the officially designated term “extinct in the wild”, these species have left nature behind to fully enter the circuits of human culture. In this project, natural beings such as plants and animals are transplanted into an exhibition and cultural space. In the age of extinction, such displacements are not only aesthetic devices but stand for actual strategies of survival.

Michael Wang conceived an exhibition in which three glass and aluminum enclosures with artificial lights accomodate these extinct species within the space of the Nord gallery, where a selection of photographs is also exhibited. Some of those species, such as the ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) are common in cultivation. Others, like the blue cycad (Encephalartos nubimontanus), are some of the rarest species on earth. Some animals have persisted in artificial conditions for many years, like the aquatic axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), which was known only from the Aztec canals of Mexico City, most of which have long been drained. Angel’s tears (Brugmansia suaveolens), a plant with fragrant white flowers, disappeared from the wilds of South America with the extinction of the species that distributed its seeds. Nonetheless, its religious significance as a potent psychoactive drug insured its survival in traditional cultivation. Several species have survived only through heroic human efforts. The Hawaiian ōlulu (Brighamia insignis), for instance, whose last specimen was recorded in 2014, was rescued from extinction thanks to a team of botanists who hand-pollinated the very last individuals and collected seeds, by rappelling into the steep ocean cliffs on the island of Kaua’i. The exhibition is completed by a series of 20 photographs, taken by Michael Wang from 2014 to the present day, which portray different extinct in the wild species and the original habitats where they lived prior to their extinction in nature.

notes taken from the Fondazione Prada website

Dream of Flying, composed by Michael Wang

Performed by Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra directed by Greg Hopkins

Featuring Zack Auslander on guitar and Michael Wang on trombone

Anggie Obin - flute Nick Mosca - alto sax Alex Ramirez - alto sax Jake Hirsch - tenor sax Andrew Denicola - tenor sax Luis Garcia - bari sax

Yuta Yamaguchi - lead trumpet Robert Vega-Dowda - trumpet Jeremy Alvarez - trumpet Fernando Ferrarone - trumpet

Max Acree - trombone Michael Wang - trombone Elliott Brown - trombone Ethan Santos - bass trombone

Toni Vaquer - piano Zack Auslander - guitar Soso Gelovani - bass Willis Edmundson - drums