EXHIBITION

Shezad Dawood’s Leviathan film series is an episodic exploration of the current challenges we face in the intersection between climate change, migration, and mental health. The film series envisages a future eerily like our present, whose inhabitants are the survivors of a cataclysmic solar event. Each film is written from the point of view of an individual character, providing insight into their trauma and pathological traits and giving each episode its own personality, visual language and rhythm. At Void Gallery we are premiering Episode 8 of the series that elucidates the indigenous perspective on the impact of climate change and the nature of the universe according to their culture. The film looks at the interconnections between nature and the indigenous community. In ways, proposing we move from an anthropocentric view to the era of the Symbioscience, an epoch that highlights the interconnection between nature and humans, living together for mutual benefit and moving towards an ecological philosophy.

Dawood’s suite of paintings, Labanof Cycle, are based on research with the Laboratory of Anthropological Forensics (Labanof) at the University of Milan – an institute that conducts research on personal effects lost by migrants during sea crossings to Lampedusa, in order to help families identify missing relatives. A series of artefacts and objects from the Labanof archive provide the visual references for the textile works. These were developed in dialogue with the renowned textile manufacturer Fortuny, and incorporate their handmade fabrics. These works are a poignant reminder of the ongoing migrant crisis that continues to develop throughout the world – most recently with the war in Sudan.

The film and textile pieces create this symbiotic relationship to the crisis in terms of the climate emergency and migration. The humanitarian echoes the wider ecological crisis through the loss of species throughout the world. Migration is exacerbated through climate events and the collapse of crops, from monoculture farming to the resource-rich countries that are subject to wars both external and internal. The capitalist pursuit of extraction and greed drive these interconnected crises we are faced with continually; at which point does it turn? Dawood interweaves these narratives from disparate regions to create an awareness and a means to have a more holistic view of how the future might be shaped.

Public Programme

Ebb & Flow: Connect with the Patterns and Power of Water
July 1, 2023
A talk and community nature walk and sea dip with marine social scientist and award winning surfer Easkey Britton.

Throughout the day you participants learnt about the power we gain by connecting to water, how we can restore our relationship with the world’s different bodies of water, and by doing so, restore both the water and ourselves.

The day began at 11:30am at Void with an interactive talk by Easkey around her research and its connections to Shezad Dawood’s work. Participants were then invited to make their way to RNLI Lifeboat Station at Ned’s Point in Buncrana, to regroup again for a guided nature walk and optional sea dip at 2:45pm. As they walked from Ned’s Point to the sea, Easkey invited the group to join her in simple breathing and visualisation exercises to restore calm, reduce stress and soothe anxiety.

The emphasis of this event was as much on the benefit to water as it is to the individual, and on creating a culture of reciprocity and care. By regaining this lost connection with water, we learn to develop an empathic connection with the force of all life and in the process restore our own hearts and minds.

Dr Easkey Britton is a surfer, writer, artist, filmmaker, coach and marine social scientist, with a PHD in Environment and Society. A life-long surfer, she was taught to surf at the age of four and she now channels her passion for the sea and surfing into social change. Her promotion of female surfing in Iran is explored in her TEDx talk ‘Just Add Surf’ and the award-winning documentary Into the Sea. She is the author of several books, including Ebb and Flow published by Watkins, 2023.

Shezad Dawood in conversation with Mary Cremin.

17 June 2023

Here Shezad Dawood and Mary Cremin discuss Shezad’s work, his suite of paintings and the Leviathan film series which is an episodic exploration of the current challenges we face in the intersection between climate change, migration, and mental health.