Ecospheres
31 May – 7 December 2024
Ecospheres aims to address ecology, the environment, climate and the natural world through the concept of making-with (living with). Based on the elements of Water, Air and Earth, the exhibition is divided into three Atmosphere Rooms. These Atmospheres function as conceptual spaces that foreground and amplify various artists and artworks in relation to the themes of the exhibition. Water is engaged as a mediator connecting the natural world to people, places and identity. The properties of Air as both a political and poetic construct are examined through the bonds of kinship, migration, diaspora and the lingering effects of atmospheric violence. The section on Earth embodies ideas of indigenous knowledge and sustainability, exploring how local indigenous knowledge informs the creation of ideas that shape art, culture and food.
The exhibition is an immersive experience that includes installations of hydroponic plants, oceanic-inspired knitted textile, botanic photography, sound and meditative paintings of migratory birds. Visitors also have the opportunity to enjoy a newly built Reading Room within the gallery. This space, designed by Wolff Architects, serves as a library for one book: the Ecospheres Reader, and is intended for convivial gatherings and discussions.
Ecospheres forms part of JCAF’s second research theme: Worldmaking. The human drive towards meaning-making leads us to both consciously and unconsciously build our world from social conditioning, scientific rationality, artistic traditions and our own struggle for survival. Worldmaking refers to the ways we collectively make the spaces around us that we inhabit through symbolic practices. JCAF will explore this concept through a trilogy of exhibitions, along with an accompanying series of talks and publications.
Read the publications: Ecospheres Reader 1 and Ecospheres Reader 2.
Explore the virtual tour of the exhibition below.