Out of Sight, Out of Mind
(2020)
Out of Sight, Out of Mind takes as its starting point places that remain difficult or virtually impossible to reach, whether through geographical isolation, political restriction, spiritual significance or the limits of human access. Known through coordinates, maps and images but rarely encountered directly, these locations occupy an ambiguous space between geographical fact and fiction, sustaining the fantasy of somewhere beyond the problems of the inhabited world.
The exhibition confronts this fantasy with the impossibility of complete escape. Point Nemo, the most remote location in the Pacific Ocean, for instance, contains traces of microplastic pollution despite its extreme isolation. Moving between references to distant sites and the physical conditions of the gallery itself, Out of Sight, Out of Mind considers remoteness as both a spatial condition and an escapist projection — and asks whether anywhere can remain truly outside the systems we might wish to leave behind.
O’ mice an’ men takes as its starting point the discovery of Mus musculus remains at Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira, radiocarbon-dated to around 1030 AD — several centuries before the Portuguese settlement of the archipelago. Genetic similarities between Madeira’s house mice and populations from Northern Europe have prompted the hypothesis that mice may have reached the island aboard Viking vessels, although no archaeological evidence has confirmed a human presence. Their arrival nevertheless points to an early instance of human-mediated species introduction and its lasting impact on an isolated ecosystem.
From this uncertain history, the exhibition examines the entangled relationship between humans and mice: a species we transport, sustain and enable to thrive, while simultaneously attempting to exclude it from the spaces we inhabit. Drawing on traps, deterrents and the often absurd strategies devised to control rodents, the works approach the mouse as both unwanted intruder and persistent companion. O’ mice an’ men considers this ongoing struggle as one of unintended coexistence, in which attempts at control are continually undermined by the adaptability of the species they seek to contain.
Location
Balcony, Lisbon
Dates
2020
Materials
Acrylic resin, pigments, mixed textiles, found wood, rubber-coated steel U-bolts, acrylic paint, industrial floor paint, rope and marble aggregate.
Shown during PARALLEL VIENNA in 2019 with
