Kat Lyons’ (b. 1991, Louisville, Kentucky) practice explores the complexities of earthly life to question the limitations of human categorisation and understanding. Her compositions aim to transcend anthropocentric realities to welcome the natural world as a force of agential and moral significance. Presenting her subjects across various planes of existence, Lyons challenges normative frameworks of perception. Her theatrical vignettes of animals and insects are wrought with an eeriness that is indicative of the anxiety and grief materialised amongst non-humans living in the Anthropocene. Her recent exhibition looked at the intersection of category, labour and grief, and how the categorisation of animals determines survival, in relation to the existing eco-capitalist system. Through her work, the artist challenges the normalisation of this emotion, suggesting instead, that it is not a defect to be remedied. On the farm, facing grief offers the chance to combat the harmful systems that leave animal husbandry often irresponsibly managed. ...
