The earth is not static, nor is the life on it. Existence as we understand it is more vast than can be captured on a human scale or timeline, even with the advanced technologies we have at hand. On the horizon, just above the waves explores the impact of pioneer species on Rangitoto Island, the youngest of Tāmaki Makaurau’s volcanic peaks, and their crucial role in its complex ecology, while reflecting on the geological, chemical and temporal similarities between the islands surface and other celestial bodies.

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Known biologically as a "pioneer species — the first entities to colonise the newly formed or disturbed environment — these lichens are responsible for the development of all other plant life within the island's volcanic landscape. In exploring their presence via geospatial data collection and surveying, the work also considers the parallel connections between Rangitoto's geological surface and volcanic history with that of Mars, as explored by the rover Perseverance thousands of kilometres away. With a video comprised of photogrammetry-based point clouds derived from Rangitoto’s lichen communities and scoria fields, the work considers both the speculative and documentary properties of digital technologies, while the accompanying audio track follows a reflective narrative around the visible geological and speculated ecological similarities between Rangitoto and Mars.

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In an age where the ecological impact of industrial human activity is becoming increasingly visible and the topic of space exploration is present in global discourse, reflecting on these deep ecological histories offers a way to explore both our relationship to and conceptualisation of the natural world, and to examine the boundaries we may perceive, either ideologically or physically, between ourselves and the wider ecology.

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As an artist creating work in this space, I would like to acknowledge the tangata whenua of Motutapu and Rangitoto and recognise their custodianship of these lands.