Kat Austen, How to touch a dragonfly, 2023-4

Kat Austen

How to touch a dragonfly, 2023-4

Wall-mounted Relief Sculptures Comprising: Aluminium, LEDs, Electronics, Laser-Cut Hanji, 3D Printed PLA, Video and Sound
"When I was a child, there were dragonflies everywhere." This recollection opens How to Touch a Dragonfly, an immersive installation that unfolds at the intersection of memory, ecological change, and technological vision. The installation brings together traditional Korean craft, cutting-edge media, and deep ecological research to create a sensorial environment where visitors are invited to experience the world through the perspective of a dragonfly—an ancient, migratory insect now profoundly impacted by anthropogenic transformation.

Dragonflies are not only symbols of beauty and transience but are also used by humans as biological indicators of climate disruption and pollution. In this work, this dynamic is reversed: dragonflies become emissaries of coexistence. In taking the dragonfly’s perspective, the How to Touch a Dragonfly installations ask what it means to share space, time, and agency with non-human others in a world shaped by human intervention.

At the core of the installations is the concept of a low-resolution screen composed of individual hexagonal “pixels” that echo the lenticular structure of the dragonfly’s eye, playing a narrative video and soundscape exploring landscapes changing due to human actions. These pixels are created by video-mapped LEDs shining through folded Hanji—handmade Korean paper crafted for the piece by artisans at the Jeonju Millennium Hanji Museum. The result is a visual system that resists high-definition spectacle, favouring embodied intimacy and fractured vision. Visitors step into a world that translates motion, colour and vibration as dragonflies might experience it.

Juxtaposing Cheongsan Island, a farming area designated a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Site, with urban spaces in Republic of Korea, the work explores the relationships between land use, climate change and insect migration. It draws on interviews with elders from Cheongsan Island and field recordings of dragonfly habitats, weaving together past and future, memory and data, emotion and environmental change.

For the Digital Art Award 2025, a 50-pixel section of the How to Touch a Dragonfly dome will be exhibited with an immersive soundscape alongside 10 Wing/net sculptures, which are stand-alone pixels with haunting silhouettes of dragonfly anatomy playing video and audio, and 10 Wing/net photographs of research sites mounted on a rotating 3-sided pillar, together elaborating the fragmentation of global dragonfly habitats.

In this piece, I explore the aesthetic and ethical implications of artificial perception—how we construct ways of seeing and listening through technologies, lenses, and algorithms. The installation becomes a speculative interface, probing the boundaries between ecological memory, technological vision, and multispecies futures.

How to Touch a Dragonfly is an artwork that calls on humans to reconsider how we live, sense, and share a more-than-human world.

20 x wall mounted sculptures: 15 x 20 x 10cm
large wall-mounted relief sculpture: 1.5m x 90 cm x 15cm

Enquire

%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3EKat%20Austen%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EHow%20to%20touch%20a%20dragonfly%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E2023-4%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EWall-mounted%20Relief%20Sculptures%20Comprising%3A%20Aluminium%2C%20LEDs%2C%20Electronics%2C%20Laser-Cut%20Hanji%2C%203D%20Printed%20PLA%2C%20Video%20and%20Sound%3Cbr/%3E%0A%22When%20I%20was%20a%20child%2C%20there%20were%20dragonflies%20everywhere.%22%C2%A0This%20recollection%20opens%C2%A0How%20to%20Touch%20a%20Dragonfly%2C%20an%20immersive%20installation%20that%20unfolds%20at%20the%20intersection%20of%20memory%2C%20ecological%20change%2C%20and%20technological%20vision.%20The%20installation%20brings%20together%20traditional%20Korean%20craft%2C%20cutting-edge%20media%2C%20and%20deep%20ecological%20research%20to%20create%20a%20sensorial%20environment%20where%20visitors%20are%20invited%20to%20experience%20the%20world%20through%20the%20perspective%20of%20a%20dragonfly%E2%80%94an%20ancient%2C%20migratory%20insect%20now%20profoundly%20impacted%20by%20anthropogenic%20transformation.%3Cbr/%3E%0A%3Cbr/%3E%0ADragonflies%20are%20not%20only%20symbols%20of%20beauty%20and%20transience%20but%20are%20also%20used%20by%20humans%20as%20biological%20indicators%20of%20climate%20disruption%20and%20pollution.%20In%20this%20work%2C%20this%20dynamic%20is%20reversed%3A%20dragonflies%20become%20emissaries%20of%20coexistence.%20In%20taking%20the%20dragonfly%E2%80%99s%20perspective%2C%20the%20How%20to%20Touch%20a%20Dragonfly%20installations%20ask%20what%20it%20means%20to%20share%20space%2C%20time%2C%20and%20agency%20with%20non-human%20others%20in%20a%20world%20shaped%20by%20human%20intervention.%3Cbr/%3E%0A%3Cbr/%3E%0AAt%20the%20core%20of%20the%20installations%20is%20the%20concept%20of%20a%20low-resolution%20screen%20composed%20of%20individual%20hexagonal%20%E2%80%9Cpixels%E2%80%9D%20that%20echo%20the%20lenticular%20structure%20of%20the%20dragonfly%E2%80%99s%20eye%2C%20playing%20a%20narrative%20video%20and%20soundscape%20exploring%20landscapes%20changing%20due%20to%20human%20actions.%20These%20pixels%20are%20created%20by%20video-mapped%20LEDs%20shining%20through%20folded%C2%A0Hanji%E2%80%94handmade%20Korean%20paper%20crafted%20for%20the%20piece%20by%20artisans%20at%20the%20Jeonju%20Millennium%20Hanji%20Museum.%20The%20result%20is%20a%20visual%20system%20that%20resists%20high-definition%20spectacle%2C%20favouring%20embodied%20intimacy%20and%20fractured%20vision.%20Visitors%20step%20into%20a%20world%20that%20translates%20motion%2C%20colour%20and%20vibration%20as%20dragonflies%20might%20experience%20it.%3Cbr/%3E%0A%3Cbr/%3E%0AJuxtaposing%20Cheongsan%20Island%2C%20a%20farming%20area%20designated%20a%20Globally%20Important%20Agricultural%20Heritage%20Site%2C%20with%20urban%20spaces%20in%20Republic%20of%20Korea%2C%20the%20work%20explores%20the%20relationships%20between%20land%20use%2C%20climate%20change%20and%20insect%20migration.%20It%20draws%20on%20interviews%20with%20elders%20from%20Cheongsan%20Island%20and%20field%20recordings%20of%20dragonfly%20habitats%2C%20weaving%20together%20past%20and%20future%2C%20memory%20and%20data%2C%20emotion%20and%20environmental%20change.%3Cbr/%3E%0A%3Cbr/%3E%0AFor%20the%20Digital%20Art%20Award%202025%2C%20a%2050-pixel%20section%20of%20the%20How%20to%20Touch%20a%20Dragonfly%20dome%20will%20be%20exhibited%20with%20an%20immersive%20soundscape%20alongside%2010%20Wing/net%20sculptures%2C%20which%20are%20stand-alone%20pixels%20with%20haunting%20silhouettes%20of%20dragonfly%20anatomy%20playing%20video%20and%20audio%2C%20and%2010%20Wing/net%20photographs%20of%20research%20sites%20mounted%20on%20a%20rotating%203-sided%20pillar%2C%20together%20elaborating%20the%20fragmentation%20of%20global%20dragonfly%20habitats.%20%3Cbr/%3E%0A%3Cbr/%3E%0AIn%20this%20piece%2C%20I%20explore%20the%20aesthetic%20and%20ethical%20implications%20of%20artificial%20perception%E2%80%94how%20we%20construct%20ways%20of%20seeing%20and%20listening%20through%20technologies%2C%20lenses%2C%20and%20algorithms.%20The%20installation%20becomes%20a%20speculative%20interface%2C%20probing%20the%20boundaries%20between%20ecological%20memory%2C%20technological%20vision%2C%20and%20multispecies%20futures.%3Cbr/%3E%0A%3Cbr/%3E%0AHow%20to%20Touch%20a%20Dragonfly%C2%A0is%20an%20artwork%20that%20calls%20on%20humans%20to%20reconsider%20how%20we%20live%2C%20sense%2C%20and%20share%20a%20more-than-human%20world.%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E20%20x%20wall%20mounted%20sculptures%3A%2015%20x%2020%20x%2010cm%3Cbr/%3E%0Alarge%20wall-mounted%20relief%20sculpture%3A%201.5m%20x%2090%20cm%20x%2015cm%3C/div%3E

Artworks

Cookie preferences