"Real Earth, replica" 

‘Real Earth, replica’ is a site-specific installation set in an industrial farming shed in Co.Wicklow. The work consists of a video titled ‘A Reference for Touch’, displayed on a wall mounted screen, and nine sculptural ‘Earth Replicas’ placed on styrofoam plinths. This is all theatrically lit by a combination of manmade and natural light.    
This installation aims to make the site into a heterotopic warehouse where ‘Earth replicas’ are being made. This other reality draws on ideas about the role of art in generating fictional scenarios, through which we can visualise potential futures. The arrangement of the installation also takes from the pews and altars seen in traditional Christian churches. The expression of the human condition seen in religion, echoes that of art as the two man made constructs co-exist in ideas of the collective, as addressed by contemporary philosopher Alain de Botton. 
In the heterotopia of this installation, the audience is asked to come to the alter of commodity, as the installation mirrors themes from the Sistine chapel ceiling. The video piece takes imagery from Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’, whilst the over arching theme of the installation intends to echo the apocalypse of Judgement day.