In recent years as we begin to witness, and even experience, climate change and the rapid decline of biodiversity, there is a growing awareness of the ecological crisis facing us as a result of the impact our way of life is having on the planet.

Art has always been at the leading edge of social and political change because of its ability to transform our perception and influence our emotions.

Meant to Fade brings together 20 artists responding to contemporary ecological themes and concerns who have dedicated their practice to exploring creative ways to make us think about ecology.

We have become a consumer society wedded to a way of life where the things we make are ephemeral in use but disastrously persistant after we discard them. By contrast, in Nature, things are constantly transforming from one form to another in order to ensure they remain useful, balanced and sustainable.

Meant to Fade features artworks that celebrate ephemerality, transformation, and the temporalities of non-toxic, natural, and living materials. In a world finally coming to terms with the damaging environmental impacts of certain materials and methods, artists featured have embraced impermanence and decay. The works push against long standing norms of artistic display and function, challenging the notion of creations outliving their creators. 

The artists and artworks take into account both the process leading up to the formation of the works, as well as the eventual decline of the works, using both ecologically minded processes and materials.

Works in the gallery include woven tapestries, drawings with natural inks, grass pulp prints, bio-plastic and fungal sculptures, cyanotype and anthotype photographic processes, and more. 

The show will exhibit a diverse body of works that engage the architecture of the space, on and off the wall. 

The exhibition has been curated by Katerina Gribkoff and Phoebe Tohl.

The artists involved are Annie Hogg, Ashleigh Ellis, Aster Reem David, Catherine McDonald, Christine Mackey, Christine Prescott, Dearbhla Ryan, Emily McGardle, Francine Marquis, Ida Mitrani, Ione Maria Rojas, Joanna Hopkins, Kate Shorey, Lorna Hayden, Louise Frances Smith, Mairéad McGuinness, Marielle Macleman, Oana Sânziana Marian, Sophie Anna Gibbings, Sylvia Maher and online Eliza Clifford, Molly Sawyer and John Steck.