inhale and exhale
Lungs, inhale + exhale: The trees are murmuring to one another. Oregon Maple trees, Trinity College Dublin Image: Siobhan McDonald 2019
Future Breath, Science Gallery Dublin, opened to the public in December 2018. This initial viewing at The Science Gallery is a presentation of work-in-progress to conclude Siobhan McDonald’s research and development as part of Trinity Creative Challenge. Future Breath will be further developed for exhibition at Limerick City Gallery, January 2019; The Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, ‘The People and plants’ April 2019 and SciArt Exhibition, The European Commission, Milan, June 2019.
This commission tells the story of two recently felled Oregon Maple trees that hold memories of significant events and histories at the heart of Trinity College Dublin. The accompanying project also suggests a journey through the grounds of Trinity – like a section through its anatomy.
Future Breath is an evolving work about the importance of the air we breathe and the unmistakable threat to plants and nature we face in the wake of climate change. Commissioned by the Trinity Creative Challenge Award, the artist embarked on a journey to explore the notion of breath for an artwork constructed for Science Gallery Dublin in collaboration with Trinity College Herbarium, The Botany Department, School of Natural Sciences.
“Future Breath is a multi-part slide installation that weaves together narratives of studies in human breath, medicine and plant remedies from Trinity’s archives, and the idea of coexistence in a world moved by invisible networks. The installation also comprises a series of paintings that seeks to capture the innate environment-sensing capacity of plants. The paintings represent an alternative archive of new knowledge made by the toxic pollutants that permeate our city.”