Goshka Macuga
NASA Delta IV Heavy Launching the Parker Solar Probe (12 August 2018) Inmate firefighters look on as an aircraft prepares to drop fire retardant ahead of the River Fire as it burns through a canyon in Lakeport, California (August 1, 2018), 2021
biro on paper
185.1 x 130.2 x 5.2 cm (framed)
This piece was initially produced in conjunction with Macuga’s Fourth Plinth Proposal: GONOGO. The image combines two events: the launch of the Delta 4 Rocket in August 2018 and the...
This piece was initially produced in conjunction with Macuga’s Fourth Plinth Proposal: GONOGO. The image combines two events: the launch of the Delta 4 Rocket in August 2018 and the California River Fires, which spread in August 2018.
The relationship of these two events is coincidental to an extent, but in reality, it depicts the paradox within the current discussion around the ecological crisis on Earth – alongside juxtaposing the rapidly shifting political and economic global situation with the controversial topic of space exploration – In particular the exploration of potentially habitable planets, and the pomp and circumstance of billionaire-funded space tourism for wealthy civilians. These manifestations of power divert attention from growing inequality in the world to other agendas removed from the commitment to the human cause here on Earth.
The production of scrolls dates back to ancient Egypt where some of the first forms of these texts were composed. These parchments are traditionally associated with record-keeping and documentation and as such embody the processes of categorization and preservation of human knowledge familiar to Macuga’s work.
Since 2015 Macuga has been developing a body of work combining historical references implied within the creation of such drawings and the juxtaposition of using digital technology – which as an extension of the human gesture and more traditional, hand drawn lines.
From collages of figurative motifs recapturing historical events to abstract lines set in a simple composition, these drawings warp our perception through playing with depth, disruption and methodology – challenging both the historical narrative and the credibility of written and drawn information parallel to that which we are exposed to through daily via a digital lens and algorithmic curation.
The relationship of these two events is coincidental to an extent, but in reality, it depicts the paradox within the current discussion around the ecological crisis on Earth – alongside juxtaposing the rapidly shifting political and economic global situation with the controversial topic of space exploration – In particular the exploration of potentially habitable planets, and the pomp and circumstance of billionaire-funded space tourism for wealthy civilians. These manifestations of power divert attention from growing inequality in the world to other agendas removed from the commitment to the human cause here on Earth.
The production of scrolls dates back to ancient Egypt where some of the first forms of these texts were composed. These parchments are traditionally associated with record-keeping and documentation and as such embody the processes of categorization and preservation of human knowledge familiar to Macuga’s work.
Since 2015 Macuga has been developing a body of work combining historical references implied within the creation of such drawings and the juxtaposition of using digital technology – which as an extension of the human gesture and more traditional, hand drawn lines.
From collages of figurative motifs recapturing historical events to abstract lines set in a simple composition, these drawings warp our perception through playing with depth, disruption and methodology – challenging both the historical narrative and the credibility of written and drawn information parallel to that which we are exposed to through daily via a digital lens and algorithmic curation.