“I have taught you the sky in all its zones is mortal—let us now re-emphasize the extreme looseness of the structure of all objects” —Michael Ondaatje

The Immortality Lab is a sculptural assemblage presenting different perspectives on immortality in an interwoven narrative. The artwork, framed as the laboratory bench of a biological researcher, includes a microscope trained on living hydras (deathless creatures) and/or bristlecone pine wood (the oldest living non-clonal species) as well texts such as letters and a dream journal which tell the story of how the elements interrelate.  The artwork contrasts the presentation of biological immortality with the incorporeal immortality of memories, absences and unfinished business. 

The artwork contains a strong sub-theme of environmental conservation centering on the dark-sky movement.  This inclusion again expands  the conceptual framework, this time to ask whether an entity as deathless as the night sky can die, but also brings urgency and relevance to the artwork in an immediate, consequential sense as we ask the same question about other seemingly immortal presences such as glaciers, the oxygen-rich atmosphere and stable ocean salinity.