An Opening, to Bear

The installation, titled “An Opening, To Bear”, is the culmination of research that I conducted at SÍM Residency in Reykjavik, Iceland on Foraminifera (or Forams). It was presented at Open Space - a collective project by international artists participating in the SÍM Residency artist-in-residence programme for June 2023. Foraminifera are single-celled organisms that live abundantly in oceans & some freshwater environments all over the world. The sculptures were cast in clay and wax, using 3D scans of the species as a starting point, and then extrapolating their scale, shapes, and textures. The edition of 8mm film was used to imagine their life cycle and capture their speculative choreography using Stop-Motion Animation. Gallery viewers were invited to stop-motion animate the sculptures using an 8mm camera during the exhibition. 

Foraminifera thrive on the deep sea floor, in open water, & near the shoreline. Their name is derived from the Latin words "foramen" (meaning opening) and "ferre" (meaning to bear). Their fossil record extends back 500 million years and is being used by scientists today to help understand past climate change events. There are about 6,000 species living today and 42,000 species which went extinct. Their fossils have survived because they build complex mineral shells around their soft insides. They are architects, creating chambers - like rooms in a building, adding more and more as they grow. They also have the unique ability to extend their own bodies out into the microcosmos, creating cytoplasm webs to find food like diatoms, bacteria, and algae. Their extended limbs look like magnificent biological highways. 

Click here to view 3D exhibition.