27 July – 6 October 2019 ·
@ Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts ·

As a starting point for this exhibition, Nicholas Mangan looks at historical research undertaken by the CSIRO into the activity of termites in the hope that the behaviour of these industrious insects would assist with the identification of gold deposits and lead to increased efficiency in gold exploration.

Mangan combines footage he filmed on location in WA, alongside archival video and table-mounted sculptures – elaborate 3D prints of re-imagined internal workings of termite mounds. Using a 3D printer, plaster and soil, Mangan has created models that hybridise mining infrastructure with termite architecture to form speculative termite mining infrastructures.

More info: http://pica.org.au/show/termite-economies/

Pictured: Nicholas Mangan, ‘Termite Economies (Phase One)’, installation view, 2019. Courtesy of the Artist and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne. Photo by Bo Wong. Courtesy of Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts.