PORTRAIT OF A PLANET ON THE VERGE OF CATASTROPHE

“Doherty uses a cross-disciplinary approach that highlights ethical quandaries of human progress and resilience. His artworks routinely question the legitimacy of different modern day power structures, oftentimes setting up parameters that allow for viewer engagement. One of his new sculptural pieces which inspired the title of the exhibition – „Portrait Of A Planet On The Verge Of Catastrophe“ – consists of a biosemiotic environment that seeks to critically address notions of our ecological future, our interrelationships with different ecosystems and how the natural world can often appear immutable until it suddenly collapses. Passive bystanders usually act as the social pillars of human catastrophe: the masses fail to evaluate appropriately their own position in the given situation, and their role as agents and accomplices. Doherty’s new work addresses this diffuse sense of responsibility, without offering apologies or solutions. His artworks for this exhibition are direct, double-edged and pretty unforgiving.”

Press Release: PORTRAIT OF A PLANET ON THE VERGE OF CATASTROPHE, Maurice Doherty & David Sherry | HilbertRaum Berlin, Germany (2019)