John Gerrard

PROJECT
A continuously burning gas flare set against the backdrop of the Tongan coast, captures the stark realities of our evolving relationship with the environment and is a metaphor for humans’ relentless consumption of natural resources.

Artist John Gerrard’s ocean simulation in Flare (Oceania) is based on photographs by Tongan artist and eco-activist Uili Louisi. Gerrard recreates a virtual and generative version of a seascape from Louisi’s photographs through a custom-programmed, game engine. Flare (Oceania) also traces time, moving through day to night according to the time in Tonga.

Luisi’s activist perspective imbues the work with a deeper sense of urgency, the flame appearing as a persistent reminder of the environmental impact of our actions. Tonga is at the frontline of ever increasing natural disasters due to climate change, which will eventually see the relocation of the Tongan population as the ocean rises. Flare (Oceania) oscillates between the abstract and the realistic, generating a meditative sense of timelessness, yet punctuated by an urgency of time running out.

ABOUT
Irish Artist John Gerrard breaches the divisions between portrait, landscape, and historical painting, generating moving images that no longer belong to ‘time-based media’. Gerrard’s work offers us a perspective on our world through the prism of its technological medium: the same software that enables the operations of entertainment, industry, and even warfare. Gerrard studied sculpture at the Ruskin School, Oxford, and obtained an MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has appeared in the 2021 Thailand Biennial, the 2021 Guangzhou Image Triennial, and Manifesta 12, Palermo. Solo exhibitions and projects have been held at Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid; UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; and the Lincoln Center, New York. His work is held in the collections of Tate, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Los Angeles.

Courtesy of Uili Lousi and Pace Gallery