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LTtheMonk
Artist Statement
During my visits to the Sloboda Lab, I was inspired by the lab’s mouse experiments. They showed that the environment babies are raised in, both in the womb and after being born, is a key factor in determining many aspects of their adult health. This includes if they will become obese, suffer from disease, or become healthy adults.
The mouse experiments mirror what happens in our lives. The opportunities we receive are heavily determined by the environments we grow up in. This includes if we work high-paying jobs or jobs that barely keep us above the poverty line. If Jay-Z was raised in a different environment, his “American Dream” hustle and spirit would lead him to a job at a Fortune 500 company. Instead, before becoming a successful rapper, he sold drugs.
Inspired by this, I started off with Jay-Z as an example. I used Mickey and Minnie Mouse as faces for the animals that teach us about how the environments we grow up in impact our health. To bring it all together, I ask the audience: what can we do to improve the environments future generations are raised in? When should we do this? Before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and/or after the child is born?