Kirsten Stolle. Proceed at Your Own Risk

About

Kirsten Stolle examines the global influence of chemical companies on our food supply and explores the connection between corporate interests and public health. Using post-WWII America as her stage, Stolle’s collages, drawings and site-responsive installations investigate corporate propaganda, environmental politics and biotechnology.

In her debut exhibition at NOME, the artist presents two bodies of work: Monsanto Intervention, a series of redacted and collaged Monsanto Chemical Company magazine advertisements; and Animal Pharm, collages responding to the controversial use of genetic modification in animals by the pharmaceutical industry. 

Using source materials such as 20th century medical books, agricultural catalogs and mid-century magazine advertisements, Stolle’s collages confront industry narratives. In Monsanto Intervention, Stolle reconstructs post-war magazine advertisements to reframe company messaging and reveal true agendas. Her altered, and often poetic texts, also hint at historical events, their blacked-out omissions recalling official documents redacted by the US government. 

Playing off George Orwell’s dystopian fable “Animal Farm”, the Animal Pharm collages critique the use of genetic engineering to produce pharmaceuticals within host animals. Stolle’s cut-outs of medical equipment and agricultural imagery, suggest odd yet nearly believable environments. Engaged in uncovering the role of corporate influence on our health, Stolle’s work invites attention and offers an opportunity for considered dialogue.