We are interested in human culture, and the delicate balance between personal, public and planetary interest. Past works consider the way we communicate, express ideas, organise ourselves and interact as a society. Currently, we are focused on human interaction with the environment and other non-human species. We are fascinated by scientific research that reveals complex symbiotic inter-species relationships within ecosystems, non-human cognition, dramatic evolution over vast periods. These stories challenge the Humanist belief in the primacy of our species and our separation from nature, paving the way for new perspectives that situate humans within broader ecologies.
The work we have been making in response to these ideas is gradually turning our studio into a menagerie of speculative organisms. Each sculpture is an assemblage of found materials, such as plastic bottles, whipper-snipper string, and popped bubble-wrap. The intensive processes used to transform this post-consumer material palette into hair, feathers and other body parts, extend these works beyond concerns of recycling and sustainability, to suggest a fictional future where non-human species evolve to make use of the materials we leave behind. Their unlikely nature reflects on different species’ capacity to adapt to human impact. What might they become? What are the limits of their ability to adjust?
Embedded technologies such as LED light, cameras, sensors, servo-motors, and face-tracking software, imbue these creatures with an endearing sense of intelligence that far exceeds the simplicity of their responses. One of our hopes for this series of work is that these emotional responses might inspire greater empathy for non-human species, and respect for each organism’s knowledge of their environment.
