Various Small Fires is pleased to present Sean Raspet’s first show at Various Small Fires, and debut solo exhibition in Los Angeles.
Raspet’s exhibition features three interrelated projects created over the past several years, consisting of: a selection of plants that have been exposed to radiation and chemical mutagens to produce randomized genetic mutations; a metric ton of CO2 that has been removed from the atmosphere through direct air capture; and a biological air filtration system consisting of moss that has been genetically engineered to produce floral and patchouli scent molecules.
Through different processes, the works remove carbon from the atmosphere at varying scales and timeframes. Ultimately, the works consist of this sequestered carbon as their primary material.
Together these projects enact and test proposals for near future (and already long overdue) endeavors in the areas of synthetic biodiversity, bioengineering, and geoengineering in response to anthropogenic climate change.
Thanks to: Tim Becker and the Theodore Payne Foundation; Climeworks AG; Henrik Toft Simonsen and Mosspiration Biotech; Joseph Stewart; and Lucy Chinen
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∂ (various species), 2019 and ongoing
The VSF courtyard and main gallery space contain numerous plants of various species that have all been exposed to radiation and/or chemical mutagens to produce randomized mutations in their DNA. Primarily consisting of plants that are native to the biome in which Los Angeles is situated, the selection also includes plant species from biomes further south in the same band of longitude. These more southern varieties are among those that are likely to migrate north as climate conditions warm, and over time may become better adapted to the region than many native species (which, in turn, may themselves migrate further north).
With rapidly changing climate conditions, many plant species have difficulty adapting and face potential extinction.
