This is a test run for life beyond the eco-system… because in a barren world – empty of plant, animal or marine life – we’ll have to create a new environment to maintain equilibrium. Finally free from the constraints of interdependence, humanity will step forward into a rendered dream.

I see this installation as an inverted reflection of the late-capitalist lifestyle, our relations to the other organisms that (for now) share our planet, and our secession from corporeal reality. But Surf ’n Turf isn’t a doom-and-gloom analysis, it’s an invitation to take ownership of the new world we’re making, and to see ecological change as an opportunity for imaginative frolics.

The title is taken from dishes popular in US steakhouses, that combine seafood and red meat – dishes that create overflowing plates, colourful and brimming. Eaten with relish in mass-produced corporate environments, surf ’n turf dinners present us with an image of abundance that’s divorced from dilemma or consequence.

The poisoned dream of a hungry ghost. Sake Dream Larva represents the doubts and fears that germinate and grow in the small hours of the night – those niggling worries that something isn’t right in a world that celebrates greed. The concept of Hungry Ghosts derives from Tibetan Buddhism, and is familiar across Asia. The Hungry Ghost describes humans caged by intense emotional needs – those consumed by greed and addiction, in life, will be condemned to the illusive search for satisfaction in the afterlife. Addictive and compulsive behaviours meanwhile are the driving forces of our consumerist economies; greed and brief satisfaction fuel entertainment media, advertising and social media.

The piece is a form of science fiction, nostalgic for an event that will pivot our ecological values, and lead us to a brighter future. Our species is and will be ‘haunted’ by encounters with phenomenon caused by our environmental choices. This idea is related to Derrida’s understanding of ‘hauntology’; these phenomenon could be seen as ‘an encounter with the past [the toxic consequences of our decisions], robbed of their future [the circumstances that gave rise to them may kill them just as quickly], encountered in the present, yet having repercussions for the future.’