MY HEART BENEATH THE EARTH — MEL O'CALLAGHAN

MY HEART BENEATH THE EARTH, 2023

My heart beneath the earth, 2023, acrylic paint, titanium, hematite, silver, zeolite, phosphorescence, bronze, and ochre on wall, dimensions variable.

Photo: Romain Darnaud

‘ZONE DE CONTACT’
POUSH, PARIS
MAY 12 - JUL 12, 2023

My heart beneath the earth, 2023, acrylic paint, titanium, hematite, silver, zeolite, phosphorescence, bronze, and ochre on wall, dimensions variable.

Photo: John Dean & Elyse Bouvier

‘PULSE OF THE PLANET’
ESKER FOUNDATION, CALGARY
JUN 27 - AUG 27, 2023

All the world began with a yes. One molecule said yes to another molecule and life was born.(Lispector, 1977)

Constellatory in form, this large-scale wall painting made with freshly crushed pigments is akin to the begins of life, both on a cellular and planetary scale. More than pigments, rare earth minerals are included in the painting, such as titanium, which is resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine; zeolite, used to balance pH and remove heavy metals in the body; and hematite, used to restore, strengthen, and regulate the blood supply, which aids blood conditions such as anaemia; among others. The artists’ relationship with minerals and gemstones is familial and omnipresent—her beloved grandfather Albert Chapman was a renowned minerologist who assembled one of the world’s preeminent mineral collections.

In line with O’Callaghan’s larger research practice, My heart beneath the earth charts the molecular and mineral level of our shared social and cellular beginnings. Like the improbability of a crucible moment—the initial split of the first cell 4.5 billion years ago, or the explosion of a star—My heart beneath the earth emanates from a singular impulse and its yearning for the collective. Crystallised here is this unlikely alchemical doubling, a metaphor for all multicellular life on Earth and the more-than-human lifeworlds we must be attentive to.

My heart beneath the earth, 2024, acrylic paint, azurite, copper, hematite, malachite, phosphorescence, silver, titanium, vermillion, zeolite on wall 300 x 420 cm

Photo: Laura Moore

‘LIVE ECHO’
CASSANDRA BIRD GALLERY, SYDNEY
FEB 3 - MAR 30, 2024

My Heart Beneath the Earth, 2023, Acrylic paint on wall with titanium, hematite, azurite, silver, zeolite, phosphorescence, bronze and ochre, 5m x 17m

‘THE CHARGE THAT BINDS’
AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART (ACCA), MELBOURNE
DEC 17 - MAR 6, 2025

My Heart Beneath the Earth charts the molecular and mineral makeup of our shared social and cellular beginnings. Like the improbability of a crucible moment — the initial split of the first cell 4.5 billion years ago, or the explosion of a star — My Heart Beneath the Earth emanates from a singular impulse and its yearning for the collective. Crystallised here is this unlikely alchemical doubling, a metaphor for all multicellular life on Earth and the more-than-human lifeworlds we must be attentive to.

Constellatory in form, this large-scale wall painting made with freshly crushed pigments is akin to the begins of life, both on a cellular and planetary scale.