James Capper, Prototypes of Speculative Engineering: MONA, Hobart (Curated by Jarrod Rowlins and Emma Pike. Commissioner Olivier Varenne)

Prototypes of Speculative Engineering, combines Capper’s interests in mechanical engineering, industrial design and evolutionary biology.Created with industrially coated steel and hydraulic systems, Capper’s sculptures—HYDRA STEP and HYDRA SHUFFLE II—evoke the evolutionary shift when life moved from water to land. These insect-and-digging-machine hybrids explore crossovers between biological and mechanical processes, and consider humanity’s use of extractive practices.