2022, Installation images from Denny Gallery, NY, NY
“We have already had our crystal palaces, covering their acres,
and filled with objects of art and wealth from every quarter of
the globe; it is not impossible, therefore, that we may have
crystal-walled seas, in which aquatic menageries will form
the last new object of fashion and wonder.”
— Noel Humphreys, Ocean Gardens: The History of the
Marine Aquarium, 1857
Much of the work in Crystal-Walled Seas is based on research
Future Retrieval did during their 2019 residency at the Lloyd
Library and Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio where they came
across seminal texts that trace the history of pattern, decoration
and botanical forms across the globe. Their current direction
is based on early illustrated instructionals on sustaining aquatic
life in a domestic setting. H. Noel Humphries’ 1857 book, Ocean
Gardens is a launching point for this body of work with the
exhibition title, Crystal Walled Seas, having been taken directly
from the text. Through this they have examined not only how
to build and populate a successful underwater environment,
but how doing so can influence one’s character and feelings
towards nature. Aquaria and aquascape have become a
metaphor for their new home habitat and studio which is
now a closed system or microcosm of individual design.
The title, “Crystal-Walled Seas,” from an 1857 text about
home aquariums, further resonated with the artists as a
concept of world-making and attempting to control the
environment within one’s home. The exhibition is full of
oceanic, organic formations inspired by the imagery of
the aquarium. Paper images illustrate a scenic underwater
garden and are also visualized into sculpture. The studio itself
has become a self-sustaining microcosm, for example, where
two dimensional remnants of cut paper are transformed into
three dimensional swim throughs and adaptations, suggestive
of living rock. The economics, visuals, and entertainment
histories of home aquaria have been of significance for the
artists’ research as time and resources have reshaped their practice.
The exhibition came into formation after a period of change in
every aspect of the artists’ lives. Prior to 2020, Future Retrieval
worked in (and ran) a large ceramics studio at the University
of Cincinnati. In 2020, in addition to the isolation created by the
pandemic, they had twin babies and moved to Arizona, where they
set up their studio at home. Using the aquarium as both a material
and ideological reference, the gallery becomes an organized
interior space for adornment, allowing focus and a moment of
stillness for the viewer. Similar to period rooms, vivariums and
dioramas, aquaria exist as a contained arena to build a world through
the targeted collecting of natural things. The exhibition places the
duo’s practice under the microscope whilst mutually finding
the material and decorative capabilities within the aquatic world.
Link to Exhibition Catalog
Link to Exhibition