Niamh Coutts’ practice examines the misconception that humans, nonhumans and the environment are distinct entities and explores how pedagogic institutions, such as natural history collections, can influence cultural ethos.
Niamh’s practice rejects anthropocentric agency by creating objects and prints, curated to suggest the interconnectedness of humans as a species, and nonhumans. Imagery, curated through cultural and ecological networks, is depicted as otherworldly to generate narratives detached from our current ecological relationship. Through detached, unbiased observation audiences are encouraged to decipher hidden meanings and connections between objects.
Her prints are a critique of the European botanical explorer and can be considered a hyperbole of 18th century natural history collections. The agency of objects is manipulated through mediums and curation to evoke new post-anthropocentric ideologies.
Paper Size: 70 x 71.4 cm
Medium: Screenprint
Edition Size: 40
Year: 2021