Archiving Oil

Of all substances what is more ubiquitous than oil. Fossil fuels, oil in particular, have entirely shaped our evolution since the industrial age. It touches every aspect of our lives, landscapes, economies and politics. It impacts in some way on every area of research within the Cabot Institute. And yet it is almost unseen, or hidden away from curious eyes.

In an attempt to make oil’s presence more visible contemporary artist Neville and cultural Geographer Merle Patchett installed a series of art works in the Geology Collection basement stores which archived the ways in which oil permeates and sediments itself within our research and wider worlds. This installation included the premiere of a series of short films Neville created in response to the experimental scientific work of Cabot Institute researchers.