Louise Oates | Mineral Articulations

£2,500.00

Digital C-Type print, aluminium frame 80 x 60 cm

Edition of 5

2023

£2500 / €2900

Enquire here

Mineral Articulations is a photograph which captures a fragment of a previous large temporary sculpture titled Elemental Anomalies containing silicone, electrical copper wire, powder pigments, salt, soil and protein powder which represent a multitude of substances and compounds theorised to be within the first proto-cell, deep beneath the ocean, nestled within microscopic pockets in hydrothermal vents. These materials include silica, salts, amino acids and sulphur, among others, which continue to be integral components of all living cells today. Against the backdrop of a neoliberal society in the Global North and the cognitive economy, we find ourselves compelled not only to optimise the efficiency of our every action but also to commodify our own minds and identities as products for consumption. In attempt to satiate these external pressures we turn back to minerals such as zinc, B12, and iron supplements, also present in the sculpture Elemental Anomalies, known for their capacity to invigorate the body with energy and associated with the enhancement of cognitive function. At its essence, this work delves into the concept of both personal and political extraction - from minerals and minds, traversing through bodies and industries, via processes of absorption and dissolution.

Digital C-Type print, aluminium frame 80 x 60 cm

Edition of 5

2023

£2500 / €2900

Enquire here

Mineral Articulations is a photograph which captures a fragment of a previous large temporary sculpture titled Elemental Anomalies containing silicone, electrical copper wire, powder pigments, salt, soil and protein powder which represent a multitude of substances and compounds theorised to be within the first proto-cell, deep beneath the ocean, nestled within microscopic pockets in hydrothermal vents. These materials include silica, salts, amino acids and sulphur, among others, which continue to be integral components of all living cells today. Against the backdrop of a neoliberal society in the Global North and the cognitive economy, we find ourselves compelled not only to optimise the efficiency of our every action but also to commodify our own minds and identities as products for consumption. In attempt to satiate these external pressures we turn back to minerals such as zinc, B12, and iron supplements, also present in the sculpture Elemental Anomalies, known for their capacity to invigorate the body with energy and associated with the enhancement of cognitive function. At its essence, this work delves into the concept of both personal and political extraction - from minerals and minds, traversing through bodies and industries, via processes of absorption and dissolution.

Enquire

Louise Oates is a visual artist working in installation, sculpture and photography. Her research led practice works towards entwining industries, bodies, and planetary processes, whereby metabolisms coalesce into material narratives.
Oates’ work unfolds through systems and assemblages that allow matter to perform or reveal its own innate tendencies - an exercise in relinquishing control. Her practice navigates the tension between movement and stillness, chaos and stasis, by which things are changed and sustained through time; incorporating live growth, peristaltic pumps, and moving images alongside processes that attempt to fix or preserve through firing, curing, and photography.

By probing at what can be controlled and what remains unsettlingly beyond our grasp - both physically and epistemologically - the work aims to engage with the complex interplay of agencies, spanning the human, animal, and mineral realms at a time when accelerated environmental change and uncertainty challenge our preconceptions about stability and what we can predict.
Louise Oates is a visual artist working in South East London.

Education:
2018/21 - Slade School of Art, University College London - MA Fine Art Media + Contemporary Art Theory - Supported by the Felix Grant
2010/13 - London College of Communication - BA [Hons] Photography

Selected Group Exhibitions:
2025 - Standpoint Gallery, London - Spillâge [Curated by Haze Projects]
2025 - Salon Ac me, Mexico City
2024 - Generatio n and display, London - Ice Blink Luck [Curated by Kollektiv Collective]
2024 - GPS, London - It felt like dawn [Curated by myself, Emma Papworth and Yasmin Vardi]
2024 - Samford Vitrine, London
2023/5 - The Victoria and Albert Museum - Energy: Sparks from the Collection
2023 - The Crypt Gallery, London - Acoustic Tunnel
2022 - Xxijrah hii Gallery, London - Cosmoses
Full CV here.