Lighting/The Hawaii Diorama/Bald Eagle break down the idea of ‘pristine nature’ by critically examining ideas of objectivity and imagination, scientific insight and artistic liberation. Gabriela Bettini severely criticises natural history dioramas that seek to represent an idealistic nature that never existed. Through an emphasis on nature portrayals and scientific manipulation through musealisation, the artist reflects on the codification of nature as a political, technological and socio-cultural matter. Knowledge systems in natural history museums, specifically Western and European ones, are constructed on binary thinking—nature on one side and humans and culture on the other. Through the normalisation of nature as a machine of production for the service of humans, European sciences have made massive appropriation of resources acceptable. 

The Lightning speaks to the idea of how paintings of colonised landscapes of Latin America allow for not just ownership to the coloniser but also give them a sense of moral authority to exploit beyond limits and contribute to the erasure of species. The title of the work may suggest the wrath of nature challenging the idea of peaceful, idealised landscapes. Landscape paintings provide an illusion that, when uncovered, relays colonising expeditions. The Hawaii Diorama deconstructs the use of visual strategies and methods in creating a dilemma that goes far beyond the aesthetic. The subjugation of nature is a prerequisite for capitalist patriarchal dominance and economic appropriation of resources. Dioramas encapsulate the dangerous desire to legitimise killing in the name of science and preservation. Bald Eagle reinforces the role of animal representation in the profitable industrial interests of humans but can also be read as understanding the imbalance caused by the dominance of one species, like the eagle, in an ecosystem. Utilising ecofeminist Vandana Shiva’s arguments, the bald eagle may represent the harmful monoculture farming practice. It is a colonialist engagement that violently imposes the homogenisation of societies and their agriculture in the Global South by suppressing free growth and promoting the commercialisation of life. Ultimately, Gabriela’s works translate not just to the topography of the erased but also create a point of reclaiming. They breathe a possibility of rethinking the ethics of partnership between humanity and nature and challenging the hetero-patriarchal narratives of nature and society.