Our Unfathomable Depths
Our Unfathomable Depths
Our Unfathomable Depths is an exhibition considering our relationship to coral. The work was made during the pandemic lockdowns, the first of which coincided with a mass coral bleaching event. Corals are often seen to be a bellwether species for collapsing ecosystems, but they are not only symbols of the climate crisis, corals are dynamic creatures that resist every form of human categorization. Despite this, their remoteness can lead us to relate to them more as objects than as living beings. In domestic spheres, corals exist as decorative objects, mementos, talismans, or through their representations in books. Drawing on these printed and physical references, this exhibition explores coral through artist Jodi Le Bigre’s use of lithography. This medium, which references the history of scientific illustration, also relies on the use of ever-dwindling supplies of lithographic limestone – a material that is itself not unlike the skeletons of corals.