OktoLab19

Octopuses are complex and curious creatures – and by curious we mean they are both fascinating, as well as being renowned for their inquisitive nature. As Peter Godfrey-Smith notes in his essay in this catalogue, the octopus’ evolutionary path diverged from humans many millions of years ago, and yet these extraordinary molluscs, with their multiple hearts, blue blood and decentralised brain demonstrate the kind of intelligence and problem-solving behaviours more commonly associated with mammals and birds. And while the alien appearance of octopuses has intrigued and troubled humans throughout history and across cultures, from ancient Greece to modern Hollywood, in recent years, octopuses have been receiving increased attention as conscious others, with individual personalities who return our gaze. Being such remarkable as well as highly aesthetic creatures, it is hardly surprising that octopuses have also have attracted the interest of artists. Key to the Okto-Lab project, of which this exhibition is a part, is the potential for the creative arts to contribute to an interdisciplinary knowledge space as well as open up new, strange and unexpected perspectives on octopuses, inspired by these animals’ long and ambiguous presence in art and cultural history.