Leslie Rose, Land Iguana, Woodblock Print, 25" x 28.5"

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 18, 3-5:00 pm

I was captivated by these gentle creatures on a visit to the Galapagos in 2023. Their role in intellectual history, their environmental vulnerability, and their exotic appearance and behavior all spoke to me.

The islands of the Galapagos are a mix of ecosystems. Lying 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, they are relatively isolated by their distance from the mainland of South America. Known as the locus where Charles Darwin developed his theory of adaptation and later evolution, the Galapagos are home to several unique species of birds and amphibians, two of which are the Galapagos land iguana and the marine iguana. Additionally, a more endangered pink iguana lives on the island of Fernandina. 

No place is immune from the effects of climate change, and these islands are not an exception. These new pressures add to those already in place: humans brought invasive competitors (rats, pigs and donkeys, to name a few) which put land tortoises and other species at great risk. In the past fifty years, many of these invasives have been eliminated. On our trip we saw none, but the growing human population at Puerto Ayora and surrounding areas has ballooned. Risks to species protection increase with the growing human population.

Marine iguanas are dark shades of grey and black, sometimes with green and pink around the shoulders. They swim in a curvy motion. Most fascinating are the calcified protrusions some have on their backs, resembling fangs! Galapagos land iguanas are yellow and brown and appear fatter. Woodblock carving in particular lends itself well to the tremendous textures of these unique lizards.

---

Leslie Rose

Leslie Rose has lived in Washington DC for 39 years. A printmaker, she began her artistic studies in photography at Glen Echo Park, following at the Corcoran College of Art and Design where she completed an AFA. Earlier in her career, she studied and taught Mandarin after completing an MA at Stanford University. She has been a member at WPG since 2021

Shop The Day of the Iguana