The Geological Unconscious
curated by Julie f hill & Susan eyre
Unit 3, Euston Tower, 286 Euston Road, NW1 3DP
PV: Thursday, 22nd May 2025
Open: 23rd May – 28th June 2025
‘What truth could be more unexpected ….than the one in which the mineral envisions while also being envisioned.’ Jason Groves, The Geological Unconscious
‘This is the blueprint of nature itself; both hidden and revealed in a nodule of silica.’ Roger Caillois, The Writing of Stones
A group exhibition, co-curated by Julie F. Hill and Susan Eyre, exploring themes of stone consciousness and human-mineral encounters, destabilising assumptions about passive matter and a stable Earth.
Responding to Jason Groves’ inquiry into the mineral imaginary in his eponymous book, as well as the ‘Writing of Stones’ as proposed by writer and mineral collector Roger Caillois, the exhibition exposes the complex entanglements between the organic and the inorganic; the human and the lithic. The Geological Unconscious is viewed through disruptive Surrealist strategies, engagements with the aesthetics of geo-materiality and material processes that attend to the growth and transformation of matter. These artistic ‘excavations’ highlight the toll of extractive industries on our planet, whilst inspiring reverence for the geological memory of deep, cosmic time. Theories of Animism and Panpsychism are also brought to bear on ways of attributing agency to inorganic realms.
Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, large-scale installations and sculptural works sit alongside embroidery, video, expanded print and photographic work, creating material intimacies that situate us in scales beyond the human.
An accompanying events programme includes a geologist-led walk discussing the origins of the local built environment; a food tasting event that explores human-mineral entanglements through digestion; a workshop sharing skills on crystal growing; artist-led exhibition tours and talks as well as speculative fortune telling performances using gemstones.
Malachite, masque africain, from Roger Caillois’ stone collection. Photographed in the French Museum of Natural History by Julie F Hill, 2023
Artists
Susan Eyre
Charlie Franklin
Julie F Hill
Rona Lee
Deborah Tchoudjinoff
Portfolio
contact information
Email: [email protected]
Socials: @juliefhill @eyresusan
Website: www.juliefhill.co.uk
