Dealing with questions of impermanence is characteristic to our human experience of mortality and is something which has troubled generations. However, as the daunting reality of humanities collective ‘end’ appears conceivably close, impermanence manifests itself as a part of the contemporary condition. The speeding up of the climate crisis has compounded the reality of our diminishing future on this planet.

Generation Z has been on the frontline of the fight for the future, with young voices from all around the world leading mass environmental movements. Talis Ellis’ practice aims to voice the fears of a generation plagued with uncertainty in order to convey the urgency with which we need the world to unite behind us in the fight for our future. Talia’s current work is aimed at commemorating the future since grief can be wielded as a powerful political tool. In order to foster a collective grieving for the future, she understands we need to be able to conceive what that future might look like. Talia’s artwork is concerned with creating a relic from the object. In creating an idol of the future a contemplative space is formed between the image and the viewer. The works open up questions of time, uncertainty, legacy, mystery and control. Capitalistic American ideals of ‘visualisation’ and ‘self-actualisation’ are whimsically mocked in the artistic process of projecting the future. Nevertheless, the works acknowledge that dialogue with our ‘fate’ is crucial to engendering real change.