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Chthulus: A Teratological Invasion of an Empathetic Mind is a two-channel moving image, sound and sculptural installation created from material research carried out over the past year at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, Berlin and Reykjavik, and at Malahide Castle and Gardens in Dublin, Ireland. The work follows the structure of Dante's Inferno and uses a science fiction narrative style, building on speculative theories to take the viewer into a predicted future. People are kept in greenhouses while the worst of human behaviour begins to unfold.  The Observers offer this living situation as a solution to the housing situation. The imagined world burns, and the space in the  World War II bunker where the installation is shown is dark and hot. Between moments of chaos, our relationship with nature and technology is brought into focus as the narrator's voice changes, echoing with a robotic cadence, an almost artificial intelligence-like flow, poetically yet awkwardly describing memories of nature. 

 

The title, borrowed from Donna Haraway's work Staying with The Troubles, explores the chthulus, a 'myriad of intra-active entities in assemblages' as a remedy for the overwhelming anxiety of the climate crisis, acknowledging that sympoiesis or 'making with' is at the heart of deep ecological consciousness. Looking at these ideas through a decolonial lens, the work reassesses epistemologies, particularly in relation to the 'natural' world.  Recognising that knowledge is embedded in a range of non-human and human behaviours, the work raises concerns about the methods of archiving, observation and display used throughout history by the 'observer' of the natural sciences. The work engages the viewer in a dialogue about the tensions that arise between human, technological and non-human entities and materials.

 

Duration 14m 25s

 

Sculpture dimensions 20cm x 40cm 

7 resin sculptures, LCD screens, loud speakers, dried leaves.

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