On the Edge of Time

An exploration into the systems of myth and meaning that shape natural history, reinventing a nature where we find ourselves confronted with a multitude of life forms and a blurring of the boundaries of classification.

The White Building

Exhibition Opening: 
Wed 20 Jan, 6 - 8pm 

Exhibition: Thur 21 - Sun 24 Jan,
daily from 12 - 5pm 

On the Edge of Time is a project by Emma Löfström that began in the archives of the Natural History Museum. Whilst considering the relationship between natural and human history, the project comments on mankind’s quest to map, name and ultimately control the natural world. We are living in a time of extinctions and transformations, and simultaneously experiencing a culture saturated with dystopic images of fear and disaster. The challenge is to create inhabitable narratives, looking at alternate ways in which nature and culture could take on new and unexpected forms in the future. Beginning with the idea that nature is constructed not discovered, the project considers the complex relations that have informed our natural history, reflecting on how this knowledge could be reinterpreted if only viewed from another perspective. Interested in the tension between science and fiction, the project is envisioning a post-anthropocentric era playing with ideas of trans-species solidarity, multi-sexual beings, and unconventional ways of becoming

Meticulous graphite studies combined with intuitive ink collages form an ongoing investigation of the historic connection between science, observation and drawing. The project is presented as an open-ended process, where works on paper are accumulated and displayed across an architectural installation, reflecting on nature’s permanent state of flux and the constantly changing truths of natural science.

Supported by IASPIS – The Swedish Arts Grants Committe's International Programme for Visual Artists