Nowhere but the Warehouse can we imagine such a gritty, diverse and inflammatory group exhibit blending so well with its environs. Upon entering End of Nature, one is taken aback by its exhibition statement, which begins, “Have humans become a form of cancer? We certainly behave like one,” and continues by asking, “after the end of nature … will we be alone, just people and the bacterial cultures required to sustain us, or will we manage to keep a few souvenir species alive for company?” Not exactly subtle.

Equally alarming but significantly more intriguing, Renee Shaw’s rows and rows of junk-filled mason jars line the Warehouse’s front display window. In Preserve (pictured above), toys, tampons, fuzz, slime in various colors — all bottled up for preservation — line numerous white shelves viewable from the street. Although quite gross, the installation surprisingly borders on beautiful, and definitely starts the exhibition with a curious note.

Upstairs, the Warehouse’s rough and peeling walls are filled with work by over twenty area artists. Although curator Ruth Trevarrow certainly lacks subtlety in her statement, the artists did not all follow suit. Some pieces, like Deborah Ellis’ nicely watercolored Four Part Ice, employ traditional media and techniques to illustrate a quite matter-of-fact view of the end of nature. Similarly, Linda Byrnes exhibits two delicately rendered but straightforward pencil drawings of empty bird nests, and pairs these more traditional works with sculptural, airy nests created from plastic six-pack holders. While this use of relevant materials is communicative, it’s a bit of a one-note.

The third floor of the exhibit holds the most intriguing and experimental work. Herb Williams’ series of colorful Wallflowers (pictured left) are among the best. Wall-hung but 3D, these crayon-based flower sculptures fill the room with the familiar childhood scent of playful art making. The crayons are cut at different lengths to form waves and indentations, mimicking the curves of nature-made flora. The bulkiness of the crayons can’t achieve the softness of real flowers, but these clunky beauties bring a lightness to an otherwise doomsday exhibit.

This Saturday at 2 p.m., view the exhibit during a poetry reading by Nan Fry, Judith McCombs and Bernard Welt. Or, join the artists and local curators Farar Elliott and Jenny Carson for a gallery talk next Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m.

End of Nature will be on view at the Warehouse Gallery until May 4. The Warehouse is located at 1017-21 Seventh Street NW and is open Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. and by appointment.

Images of Preserve and Wallflower courtesy of the artists.