Mikala Dwyer’s aquatic-themed installation bristles with allusions to hippocampus, the genus name of the seahorse, derived from the Ancient Greek meaning ‘horse’ and ‘sea monster’.

Exhibition Dates: 11 March – 1 October 2023

A natural science oddity, the seahorse reverses normal animal kingdom roles by having the male gestate and give birth to the young. Today, these fragile fish are threatened by degradation of their coastal habitats and overfishing for traditional medicines. In Greek mythology, hippocampus refers to the equine-fish hybrids that drew the water chariot of Poseidon, god of the sea and earthquakes.

The name was later used for a structure within the brain that is shaped like a seahorse. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each of the temporal lobes. The hippocampal network plays an important role in storing long-term memories and regulating spatial navigation. Recent neuroscience studies suggest it also enables the flexible reconstruction and recombination of multivalent memory associations. This feature is thought to support flexible behaviour and thinking, including the creative capacity to imagine fictional or future scenarios.                               

Penelope and the Seahorse

multiplies flexiblememory associations, combining natural history, myths, half-truths, and dreams, while spanning the deep time of a pagan past, modernity and future imaginings. Dwyer weaves ancient Greek mythologies into a futuristic vision of marine life as ghostly apparition. 



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Mikala Dwyer Empty Sculptures, 2023; plastic, hemp twine; 180 x 110 x 70 cm; enquire
Empty Sculptures, 2023
plastic, hemp twine
180 x 110 x 70 cm
Mikala Dwyer Empty Sculptures, 2023; plastic, hemp twine; enquire
Empty Sculptures, 2023
plastic, hemp twine
Mikala Dwyer Empty Sculptures, 2023; plastic, hemp twine; enquire
Empty Sculptures, 2023
plastic, hemp twine
Mikala Dwyer Penelope, 2023; hessian, stone, paint; enquire
Penelope, 2023
hessian, stone, paint
Mikala Dwyer Hotel Seahorse, 2023; shopping trolley, bronze, chain, plastic, caulk, marine pebbles, electric sign; enquire
Hotel Seahorse, 2023
shopping trolley, bronze, chain, plastic, caulk, marine pebbles, electric sign
Mikala Dwyer Neptune and the Hippocamps, 2023; acrylic on canvas, diptych; enquire
Neptune and the Hippocamps, 2023
acrylic on canvas, diptych
Mikala Dwyer Holohorses, 2023; digital animation and audio composition; Edition of 5 + 2AP; enquire
Holohorses, 2023
digital animation and audio composition
Edition of 5 + 2AP
Mikala Dwyer Charybdis, 2023; vitrine, bronze seahorses, plastic cups and straws with artefacts selected from the Nicholson Collection; enquire
Charybdis, 2023
vitrine, bronze seahorses, plastic cups and straws with artefacts selected from the Nicholson Collection