Eugene Parnell: Bigfoot is probably real.

December 3 - 31, 2009

First Thursday reception: December 3, 2009 6 - 8 PM

Gallery 4Culture

101 Prefontaine Place South, Seattle

www.4culture.org/gallery

How do we know what we know about the natural world? Is it possible to deduce the existence of an animal without an identifiable carcass, neatly tagged, stuffed, and taxonomically labeled? If genuine Bigfoot remains were presented to the public, would they even be accepted as such?

Bigfoot is Probably Real is an interactive exhibit where visitors can use large wooden strap-on feet to  recreate the hoax bigfoot tracks which apparently explain the phenomenon; they can read just a small sampling of the thousands of eyewitness reports of Bigfoot sightings, and hear the audio from a genuine 911 emergency call made by an eyewitness.

Bigfoot is Probably Real also allows visitors to experience an actual Bigfoot encounter, as the artist presents the first actual taxidermied Bigfoot specimen available in the United States.

It is estimated that ten thousand first-hand sightings of Bigfoot have occurred since the 1950’s, when the phenomenon first attracted media attention. The most interesting, and some  would say convincing, aspect of these sightings is the consistent visual description of the creature. Is this due to the accuracy of the eyewitnesses’ memories, or is it due to the fact that so many media representations of the creature already exist? In other words, do we remember what we have actually seen, or what we think we should have seen? Is there a large, unclassified primate living in the forests of the Northwest? Many, many people have seen such an animal. Can their stories and descriptions be believed? What exactly is the relationship between the world of real animals in our environment and the animals of our dreams, our memories, our nightmares?

Taxidermied Bigfoot (detail), 2009. Urethane foam, steel, epoxy resin, glass, bigfoot hide, pigment. Photo: Eugene Parnell