The LAB Gallery presents Iteration III of Past, Present, Future, an ongoing installation project by artist Catherine McDonald.

Each iteration of this work unfolds the narrative of five clay creatures, and their journey to achieve immortality. Their goal is to fuse their bodies to the planet through fossilization, and to combine themselves with flora in the hopes of successful reproduction. This way, they will exist in the past, the present and the future, escaping their fear of oblivion.

The exhibition at the LAB marks the third iteration of this narrative. The creatures have emerged from the Earth and are now in the process of growth, fusion and decay. The installation space is a travelling and fluctuating ecosystem, evolving in time with the natural materials from which it is borne. It includes clay which falls from cliffs along the Irish coast, and common Irish plants such as dandelions and clovers. It also incorporates limestone, suggesting planetary history and the fossilization process.

Past, Present, Future – Iteration III is a mini landscape which is both familiar and unfamiliar. The narrative is speculative, but remains rooted in the rhythms of the Earth. It is evocative of a new world yet shaped by the elemental substances which sustain life.

Curated by Shannon Carroll

Catherine McDonald is a visual artist currently based in county Clare. She merges sculpture, painting, film and sound to create multi-layered installations.

She collaborates with the rhythms of natural materials such as clay, seaweed and living organisms. These materials combine to create imagined spaces or scenes. Through this practice Catherine aims to uncover the layers of knowledge which shape the human understanding of the natural world. With each body of work, she seeks to reframe our constructed perceptions of Earth.

Catherine completed her BFA at Technological University Dublin. Her graduate work was chosen for exhibition at the 2021 Visual Art Awards at the RHA and also received the 2021 Image Now purchase award. She is currently undertaking an MFA in Art and Ecology at the Burren College of Art.