"Control is a construct of human design, yet we remain unsettled when confronted with forces beyond our grasp. Equally crucial is the act of translation—bridging the divide between seemingly irreconcilable languages: the logic of systems and the chaos of nature, the rigidity of governance and the fluidity of wind." – Roxy Paine

Roxy Paine’s work has long explored the tension between the organic and the mechanized, creating a body of art that straddles both worlds. From artificial landscapes of fungi and flora to automated art-making machines and towering metallic trees, his vision filters nature through an industrial lens. By fusing the natural with the synthetic, Paine invites us to reconsider our uneasy position between the worlds we construct and the wild forces that elude our control.

In Bad Planet (2005), Paine presents a world that appears both familiar and unsettling. The large epoxy sphere, with its textured surface of growths, craters, and swirling patterns, evokes a planet shaped by time, climate, and external forces. Neither entirely organic nor wholly artificial, it sits at the intersection of nature and industry—an object to be studied, maintained, and reconsidered. Through this work, Paine encourages reflection on the Earth's shifting state, raising questions about our role in observing, understanding, and caring for the environment in an era of rapid change.