This exhibition explores the ontology of objects through an ecological lens. The relationship between material and things is examined to question the way we perceive the world and make sense through physical objects. Some of the works are hybrid forms moving between different states of being.

The work in the heritage centre examines the demise of an object through weathering and corrosion. 'Paul’s Turn' (1971) an abstract, modernist sculpture by Sir Anthony Caro, was eventually removed from the Hunterian sculpture courtyard in 2025 to undergo conservation work. Many of the images and texts in this space are composed of rust which formed on the surface of that sculpture.

The Studio Pavilion Gallery reveals a more expanded and intimate viewpoint through drawings, paintings, sculptures and temporary site-specific work. These objects and images resist a world increasingly shaped by ‘non-things,’ (Han, 2022) reaffirming through material connection, what it means to be human. Everyday material is closely examined and re-imagined into new entities. Carved pencils run through the exhibition as a motif - a reference to the 1844 publication 'The Pencil of Nature' by Henry Fox Talbot, which anticipates possible future uses of photography as a new technology.