Works | sculpture Copy

2026: NEW FOR MARINA SHTAGER

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NEW FOR MANDY ZHANG

Two themes dominate my focus for 2026 – Ecology and beauty. The solo show Natural Orders of Hybrid Ecologies for Marina Shtager brought together 11 new and existing works many concerned with water – from a giant seed pod boat and diminishing waterless fountain to printed silk with formations created from melted ice

Following a residency at a beauty aesthetician clinic my line of enquiry is also directed towards beauty within nature and how we define beauty with further work underway for two major exhbitions in the autumn.

Porifera (2025): Plaster, sea sponge, shell remnants, palm fingers, salt, hibiscus, H: 78 x W: 30 x D: 11 cm.
Equipped with legs, Porifera is released from the confines of the ocean.

1. ALTERED TIDES/2025

Celebrating World Ocean Day, Altered Tides, an immersive exploration of oceanic time - envisions a world where fossils from the past emerge anew, corals show the scars of environmental decay, and marine creatures reclaim their presence on land.

Splat (2025): Plaster, kelp, nori, ostrich feather spine, glass, H: 110 x W: 80 x D: 18 cm.
Bringing to life sea vegetation.

Cacturon (2024): Sculpture: steel, flocking, Banksia pod, resin Base: resin, paint, pump, Raspberry Pi, sound, H: 180 x W: 200 x D: 100 cm.
Cacturon: towering and vibrant, serves to hydrate and repair with its dripping water and plant-like features.

Mucro (2024): Sculpture: plaster, paint, Ostrich quill.
Base: resin, paint, fans, speaker, Raspberry Pi, sound, H: 200 x W: 160 x D: 80 cm.
Mucro: with its juxtaposed organic and sharp elements, symbolises purification.

2. NATURE IS A CYBORG/2024

Officina (2024): Sculpture: steel, wasp hive, melted thermo plastic. Base: resin, diffuser, Oud, Raspberry Pi, Sound, H: 200 x W: 100 x D: 100 cm.

At the core of Nature is a Cyborg are five interactive eco-morphic characters, each endowed with unique healing powers and a mesmeric voice created from nature itself by sound artist Shane Mendosa.

Luciferina (2024): Steel, plaster, flocking, quartz, jute, LED lights Base: resin, paint, sound, H: 200 x W:120 x D:120 cm.
Luciferina: inspired by the glow of fireflies, utilises photosynthesis to emit light for renewal and growth.

RooIT (2024): Sculpture: steel, plaster, crinolene. Base: resin, paint, pump, speaker, Raspberry Pi, sound, H: 180 x W: 200 x D: 100 cm.
RooIT: embodies resilience and renewal, emitting a nutritious fluid to enrich the soil.

Predator II (2023): Resin, aluminium powder, 132 x W: 60 x D: 60 cm.
Predator 2: at once phallic and dentate, merges human and non-human.

Predator I (2023): Foam, pulp, stee, H: 152 x W: 182 x D: 182 cm.
With references to eco-feminism, this sculpture presents a glorious plant depicting untouchable female genitalia.

3. TRIFFIDS/2023

Celebrating the 350th anniversary of Chelsea Physic Garden, Triffids introduces flora with unique sensory structures that breathe, eat, digest and move about, Numbering among such chimeras, are plants equipped with armour, thorns, spines and noxious defences that threaten the hubris of human exceptionalism in which we are predators but never prey.