Mark Dion "Precursors to Reptiles" Lithograph

Dion’s work examines the ways in which dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world. The job of the artist, he says, is to go against the grain of dominant culture, to challenge perception and convention. Appropriating archaeological, field ecology and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects, Dion creates works that question the distinctions between ‘objective’ (‘rational’) scientific methods and ‘subjective’ (‘irrational’) influences.

These prints exemplify Mark's graphic work which examines the history of printmaking and scientific illustrations and how they catalog and convey information to the viewer. Upon first glance they are straightforward scientific illustrations but upon closer viewing they offer absurd elucidations and cheeky commentary on contemporary culture.