john gerrard

A white-cheeked spider monkey sits quietly, staring at a smartphone, in a virtual forest slowly burning around it. This digital world shifts from day to night - familiar yet strange - crafted entirely from computer code.

The scene draws on real footage of forests burning in places like the Amazon and California, connecting the virtual to the very real environmental crises happening today. The monkey’s phone shows a live video of its own face—an endless loop where it watches itself as the world around it changes.

Ghost Feed invites us to reflect on the relationship between technology, nature, and how we experience the environment. The monkey’s calm stillness contrasts with the urgent destruction of the forest, highlighting the tension between observation and action. It asks us to consider what it means to witness environmental damage through screens—does watching from a distance make the problem feel less immediate, or does it deepen our sense of connection and responsibility?

This work raises important questions about how technology shapes our understanding of the natural world. It challenges us to think about the ways we consume images of nature and disaster, and whether this digital distance helps or hinders our ability to respond. Ultimately, Ghost Feed encourages a deeper awareness of both the fragility of ecosystems and our own place within a rapidly changing world.

ᴾʰᵒᵗᵒ ᵇʸ ᵀʰᶦᵉʳʳʸ ᴮᵃˡ

john gerrard is an Irish artist who creates digital artworks that look like film but are actually virtual simulations. Using real-time computer graphics, his works unfold continuously, often depicting quiet, looping scenes that reflect on energy, power and the climate crisis.

gerrard’s practice draws on technology originally developed for military and gaming use, which he adapts to create slow, meditative portraits of industrial landscapes and ecological change. Often set in remote or symbolic locations, these works hold a mirror to systems of extraction, labour and environmental breakdown.

He has exhibited widely, with recent projects including Leaf Work at the Biennale of Sydney and Phileas, Vienna, Flare at COP26 in Glasgow, and infin.1.iridescent.stream in Paris. His work has also been shown at Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid; LACMA, Los Angeles; Somerset House, London; and the Gwangju, Okayama and Galway biennials. gerrard’s work is held in major collections including Tate, MoMA, SFMOMA, LACMA and M+, Hong Kong.

Born in Tipperary in 1974, he lives and works between Dublin and Vienna.

With additional support from Culture Ireland, Irish Arts Council, Thoma Foundation, and BlueSquare X.