Abstract

Time is a metaphor we have constructed – an ordered and divisional concept around which we build and manage our lives. We conveniently utilise solar rhythms and as such our perception of time passing is ordered and linear. We struggle to fully comprehend much more than our lifespan, and even then, we don’t experience it evenly. Our three score years and ten are about the limit of our understanding of the passing of time. Whilst we can appreciate the lifetimes of our antecedents and understand the concept of history, beyond this, we struggle. This is because time isn’t real; it is precisely what has removed us from the longer deeper rhythms and cycles of the Earth.

In terms of lifetimes, as a useful measure and one which we could better relate to, seasons make more sense than years. But, we no longer rely on seasons. As an example, our food is no longer bound to certain times of year, and we consume in vast quantities foods produced all over the world. Somewhere, the strawberry is always in season and tomatoes ripen on the vine. But herein lies our problem, as a species we now consume far more than we can sustainably produce (within current prevalent methods) and profit has replaced need. If we have any hope for a sustainable future, we somehow need to reconnect with the natural rhythms and deeper time of the planet and return to a more simple and harmonious equilibrium. In short, we cannot continue to live out of phase with the planet we inhabit, that fight to regain balance will ultimately be lost by mankind.

This exhibition of deeply touching and beautiful works speaks to this phenomenon. The deeper cycles we have forgotten and the longer geological time we need to align ourselves with are represented in many varied and beautiful ways. The artists, capturing both the human spirit and representation of the deeper world around us, offer an insight into the regaining of lost connections and the building of a new understanding of time. We can do it, we have demonstrated an insatiable appetite for innovation, invention and creation, the challenge we face is making the changes we need before we find it is too late. In a million years the planet will still be following its rhythmic track around the sun, the big question is, will humankind or recognisable decedents still inhabit our beautiful world?