Gaia Altarpiece

2024 

Dimensions Variable. 

Laser Engraved OSB Panel. Gold Leaf

Depicting various scenes of historical and future anthropocentric activity, the Gaia altarpiece serves as the connective tissue for my wider practice. It is also a shrine dedicated to the angel of history, a character evoked frequently within my work. The angel of history, borrowed from the work of Walter Benjamin, is a figure whom is emblematic of our relation to the destructive cacophony of human history.  "Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet." (Benjamin. 1940).  Within my practice, the angel of history acts as a prism, a lens through which one can reconfigure past, present and future to visualise anthropocentric activity. 

In a performance piece in February 2024, I sacrificed a series of artworks to the shrine, to mark the beginning of my career as a professional artist.