The Coal Loader, Waverton – 11 May – 2 June 2024

This kinetic assemblage presents a miniature living room situated on the ocean floor, suggesting domestic life lived beneath the sea. Viewed through small portholes, the underwater world enters the domestic interior, merging the idea of home with marine life.

The work draws on the sense of wonder inspired by Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), by Jules Verne. The classic adventure novel imagines the ocean as both a realm of discovery and a place of potential danger. Reflecting this duality, the artwork considers our enduring fascination with the deep while drawing attention to the fragility of marine ecosystems. What once evoked curiosity and adventure now also suggests vulnerability, as the oceans face growing environmental pressures.

1. Twenty Thousand Leagues, 2024, kinetic assemblage, 35x35x25cm
2-8. Twenty Thousand Leagues, details