Deeper in the Pyramid

Deeper in the Pyramid
Esther Leslie & Melanie Jackson

Banner Repeater, Grand Union, Primary
182 pages
181 x 260mm
Softcover
2018

Milk is polymorphic with an inclination for promiscuous collaboration, whether it be with bacteria, with cartoon avatars, with economics, pornography, genetic re-calibration or the politics of race. It is fundamental to all mammalian bodies, whilst also being one of the most technologised fluids on earth. Deeper in the Pyramid engages with the bio-economy and its representations, through the webs of care, exploitation and collective fantasy that interconnect life forms at every scale.

The work comprises animation, sculpture, and a graphic novel with writing by Melanie Jackson and Esther Leslie, taking us on a journey of lactic abstractions, through the webs of bio-invasion and collective fantasy that interconnect various life forms through milk, its technologies and representations. The ontologies of species and gender have always been shaped by our relations with this primal liquid, and ensuring a ready supply has driven research in genetics, fertility and robotics. It is now open for radical transformation as new bio-organisms emerge, and real science merges with the fantastic.

Deeper in the Pyramid is a project developed with Grand Union, Birmingham, Primary, Nottingham and Banner Repeater, London.