Date of Graduation

Spring 2026

Degree

Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies

Department

Art & Design

Committee Chair

Sarah Williams

Abstract

Herp Count 2025 is a process-based project in which I log and document every herp (reptile or amphibian) I encounter in the wild while investigating the realities of human impact on ecosystems. During 2025, I observed 1,406 individual herps, most of which appeared not in remote wilderness but in the compromised margins of human spaces. When I observe them in a littered area, I collect nearby trash and bring it back to my studio to combine it with a detailed drawing of that specific individual. In my Contact series, I use a clean-touch printmaking process that involves a stretched plastic film inked on the underside and placed over paper. As the animal moves, its weight transfers ink to the paper below. Each piece is an act of slow attention and care; a deliberate act of resistance to the speed and indifference that endangers these animals. Herp Count 2025 is a project about the need for improvement: in conservation, in lawmaking, in perception, and in how we inhabit shared ecosystems. It is about a need to pay attention, to demonstrate dedication, care, and hope for what I personally can do to improve my niche in the world.

Keywords

herpetology, empathy, attention, queerness, conservation, kinship, process-based art, performance art, care, hope

Subject Categories

Art Practice | Interdisciplinary Arts and Media | Printmaking | Sculpture

Copyright

© Camryn Gulledge

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