Life's a gas

We can last three weeks without food, three to four days without water, but mere minutes without air. Air/breath/wind is the nebulous thing that connects all living beings and in te ao Māori the breath or wind of life is hau. We think of trees and plants as the "lungs of the earth" producing oxygen for us to breathe, but every second breath we take is made in the ocean.

Artists and scientists involved in the project explore a broad range of questions about breathing and air, scaling between human breath and planetary breathing which has changed over time and continues to change. How might our intimate relationship with each breath draw our attention to global atmospheric changes driving climate change? 

Curated by Pam McKinlay from the Dunedin School of Art, this year's exhibition was held at the Dunedin Community Gallery from 30 September to 8 October 2022, and was accompanied by a full programme of free community events.

December 2022

Artwork: Too hot to handle at 20° warming? (2022), by Pam McKinlay, multimedia work comprising a framed photograph, a video work, and 3D coccolithophone models under a bell jar on a light table — This work was inspired by conversations with scientists including Linn Hoffmann, and incorporated 3D modelling and printing by William Early and Lynn Taylor, with a 3D printing design from artist Jamie Perrelet.

Image copyright: All rights reserved by Pam McKinlay.