Siobhán McDonald

Siobhan McDonald was selected to work with European Cultural Institutions such as BOZAR: Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels and Gluon: Platform for Art, Science and Technology on a new project about environmental change. 

Within this framework McDonald presents Invisible Herbarium which draws specific attention to the significance of past worlds exposed in our peatland landscapes as permafrost melts. Arctic permafrost holds mostly the partially decayed remains of ancient plants which are released into the atmosphere as it melts and therefore impacts our air. Both living and dead, the plants preserved in this depository trace a history of evolution, charting histories of generations of plant species, systems and anatomy.

The commissioned artworks will be presented at BOZAR in 2022. STUDIOTOPIA – Art meets Science in the Anthropocene (2019-2022) https://www.studiotopia.eu/ is an initiative that aims to increase collaborations between cultural and research institutions, academia, innovation centers, creatives and citizens. The initiative consists of eight European cultural institutions:  Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR) and GLUON in Brussels, Ars Electronica in Linz, Cluj Cultural Centre in Cluj, Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art in Gdansk, Onassis Stegi in Athens, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Laboral in Gijón.

Throughout the duration of this initiative (2019-2022), STUDIOTOPIA will propose a vast programme of activities across the partnering institutions: residencies, exhibitions, pop-up labs, workshops and talks. The intention of this project is to raise awareness and foster creative and critical reflections about environmental challenges that our society is currently facing.

Read a snapshot of Siobhan and Prof. Chris Bean’s continuing investigation into the critical zone of where plants meet rocks and other related places of interest, Beneath the earth and beyond the rocks, on the Studiotopia website.

In a delicate enquiry using drawing, sound and film I am exploring the mystery around how the ancient plant Silene came back to life from 32,000 year old seeds, encouraging contemplation of humans’ position amidst the immensity of nature. Through the use of imagined worlds, film, sound and paint I am attempting to delve into the emotional understanding of how our activities affect frequencies that change the planet's fragile equilibrium.

“Experimentation is at the core of what I do. A large part of my work is not really yet visible in this next stage of the project where I am exploring the mystery around how an ancient plant called Silene Stenophylla came back to life from 32,000-year-old seeds”