My practice is multi-disciplinary; utilising drawing, animation, video, sound, sculpture and installation to explore the area of human and animal behaviour in the face of ecological collapse. The spectre of climate crisis looms in my work, specifically the lost connection with nature in a highly technologically mediated society. The process merges scientific research with ecological storytelling to blend fact with fiction.

Collaged paper, mechanised pieces and miniature cardboard sculptures create juxtapositions that combine an imaginative mode of play with references to scientific research. A key source is the scientific paper showing the rapid evolutionary change of the peppered moth at the beginning of the industrial revolution. My experimental films register the transitory nature of the insects. Proto-cinematic devices such as zoetropes are a crucial reference. The emergence of these early forms of entertainment coincided with a sense of disconnection from nature and the subsequent downward spiral into climate crisis.

Beatrice O'Connell

Dept of Ecological Angst

she/her

'The Stage'

'The Stage'

'The Stage'; Detail

'The Stage'; Detail

Installation view

Installation view

Installation view

Installation view

Installation view

Installation view

'Procession'; Detail

'Procession'; Detail

'Mutterfly Automaton'

'Mutterfly Automaton'

'Moth Sequence' (to be looped)
'Spinning Moths Test'
'Unstable World with sound' (to be looped)