Finn Petrie Portfolio
The Ghosts of Future Trees
The Ghosts of Future Trees expands upon a previous project, Epiphytic Memory (2022), where Finn built 3D-printed porcelain bio-scaffolds (or “plant homes built by plants”) from detailed scans of New Zealand’s remaining ancient rainforests. Finn placed these sculptures in urban areas around Ōtepoti Dunedin for lichens, mosses, and other epiphytes to make their home. In this later iteration, Finn explores bioluminescence as a means of visually representing the plants’ nonhuman communication, while also meditating on alternative forms of temporality, networked intelligences, and the loss of native species that may now only appear in these spectral forms.
Ghost of Future Trees (2023). Porcelain 3-D printed sculpture placed at Ross Creek Reserve, Ōtepoti Dunedin. Porcelain, blue LEDs. Copyright Finn Petrie, 2023.
Ghost of Future Trees (2023). Two sculptures placed next to Ross Creek. Porcelain, blue LEDs. Copyright Finn Petrie, 2023.
Ghost of Future Trees (2023). Two sculptures photographed at night in the Ross Creek Reserve, Ōtepoti Dunedin. Porcelain, blue LEDs. Copyright Finn Petrie, 2023.
Finn Petrie
Artist
Finn Petrie is an interdisciplinary artist and scientist based in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand. He holds a BSc (Honors) in computer science and mathematics from the University of Otago and a master of visual arts from the Dunedin School of Art. His work has been featured in Leonardo, a world-leading scholarly journal on transdisciplinary art published by the MIT Press. Finn’s recent exhibitions include My Sky with Motoko Kikkawa at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, The Ghost of Future Trees at Anteroom, Epiphytic Memory, which was installed around Ōtepoti Dunedin, and Retipora (A Network of Pores) at the Ada Symposium, Pōneke Wellington.
You can see more of Finn’s work on his website.