Holly Birtles, Fighting Fish © Holly Birtles

Pseudomorphs and Fighting Fish examine instability conceptually, materially and digitally to illuminate ecological concerns and a lack of responsibility over them by design.

In Fighting Fish, Birtles reflects on her work inspired by the Thames River London and Estuary in Kent, Essex and Suffolk, where performers and artists contemplate their choreographed roles as ‘Thames Monsters.’ In Chennai, during a darkroom residency hosted by Chennai Photo Biennale and Photoworks, Birtles responds to the Adyar and Cooum rivers, identifying parallels linked to sentimentality, dedication, care, and destruction. The paradox lies in the personal reverence for these sacred sources, juxtaposed with the toxicity and damage caused by anthropocentric activities and neglect.

Pseudomorphs (2026) by Kaufman, is a film about cephalopods, doubling bodies, institutional friction, hypnosis and disappearance. It is staged across three locations: a marine biology laboratory studying cephalopod cognition and skin camouflage; a beach home to giant ammonite fossils; and the mesopelagic zone of the sea.

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