For my exhibition The Flood, I’m re-imagining the lost and dispersed zoological specimens that were once part of the Ashmolean founding collections to spark conversations around our relationships with animals, conservation, extinction, climate grief and climate activism.
As an artist collaborating with museums, I bring my vision, imagination and personal history into the dialogue. I work intuitively to challenge the expectations and display politics of the institution. Artists have the freedom to create an experience for visitors beyond labels - where museum objects can be seen in a new unfamiliar light, where things clash and evoke a sense of wonder.
Creating a nonlinear flow of questions within museum spaces is important for engaging young visitors. Through unexpected encounters, I aim to bridge categories, cultures, and time, merging science and art with the unknown. It happens when you mix things up strategically and generate new conversations between historical objects and contemporary things.
My experience at the Ashmolean has taught me to channel the power of Wunderkammer display strategies into my work through close collaboration with curators and technicians.
Using the magic of museum stagecraft - I’ve applied the radical historical model of the Wunderkammer to create an installation that’s associative and interdisciplinary.
Museum objects have their own energy and stories to tell. It takes time and patience to tap into this undefined space and to let it unfold. I feel a responsibility to amplify voices that have been silenced or overlooked to prevent the dust from settling around the stories we’ve been told.