Sophy King

The form is one of a series of works 3D printed with an experimental filament called Growlay. This is made without the use of plastics. Once printed the biomaterial is soaked in water to dissolve elements, leaving a material that soaks up water and can support plant life.

The work is an exploration of biomaterials and the idea of creating future architecture/geology which redefines how we allocate space to the non-human.

The title references Natasha Myers’ concept of the Planthroposcene, seeing the world from a multispecies perspective, a call to change the terms of encounter, to make allies with these beings.

Artist Bio

I’m a multidisciplinary environmental artist, investigating the nature-culture continuum through examination of and immersion in a place. I work with natural and man-made materials, installation, intervention, photography, film and sound. Narratives of place, time and human interactions with non-human communities and ecologies become embedded in my work.

I have worked as a glassblower, art fabricator, set-builder, prop-maker, landscape architect and educator. I create art in the public realm (Arrivals Boards, 2016) and explore placemaking through socially-engaged participatory commissions (Reach Art Project, 2014-15). Site interventions include planting native species in appropriate/inappropriate ecologies (i-Park residency, 2016; Meadow Manifested, 2015).