Cody Norton

A R T : C O D Y N O R T O N

Please, have a seat. 2021, sculpture, found object, bird spikes, 3’ x 4’

Cody Norton is an interdisciplinary artist, he is discovering the ways humankind has disrupted and intervened in ecosystems across North America. With the goal of having the human experience intertwine with nature's experience with humankind’s destruction. As Cody builds this series, he will focus on how individual species and ecosystems are being drastically affected by Humanities' impact throughout the North American region. Cody's goal is to shed some light on issues that have been neglected by the mainstream world we currently live in and plans to go to great lengths to accomplish this. Cody's interpretations of these issues are presented in his numerous styles of artwork. As an interdisciplinary artist, his practice in media is fluid, but all of his works keep the same issues and discussions in mind when presented. He does not like to be bound by professional labels such as painter or sculptor. Cody is himself, and by doing so he doesn't feel bound to one media in his work. Mediums aren't an important issue to him, at the end of the day, he creates art that is confrontational to get the attention of the public and discuss the issues that are being avoided. Our environment deserves justice and acknowledgment, and Cody wants to be the advocate for advancement in public acknowledgment over the dire issues occurring in North America.

Artist Statement

Impression can mean many different things in our world. It can be something you left when talking with someone, a feeling imprinted into a loved one’s mind about you as a person. It has many means, but to me and my artist practice, it means something a little different. When I think about the word impression, I think about all the things we have done to this world when it comes to leaving our impression in our ecosystems no matter where we have been. For the past 100 years, we have left an everlasting impression on our ecosystems and wildlife around the world. Whether it be through deforestation, oil extraction, mining, sparking wildfires, urbanization, and etc. We as a society have caused so much damage to our own world. As an artist, I want to use my time and resources to raise awareness on these issues that are being swept under the rug by our local and international governments. For far too long we have been on the track of erasure of our native ecosystems, and that all revolves around our global footprint. I have dedicated my entire practice to working with researchers and scientists across North America to raise the alarm on the local environmental issues we are contributing to. Impression can be metaphorically and physically and the road we are currently on we are leaving a large physical footprint on our ecosystems.