Fiona Hall’s two major series, Barbarians at the Gate (2010) and Fall Prey (2012), come together through a smaller curation of works that explore the political interface between nature and culture, and the complex relationships between ecology and economy.

 

Barbarians at the Gate, originally created for the Biennale of Sydney, comprises a series of architectural models mounted on beehives, each painted in the military camouflage of its corresponding nation. The models include the Brandenburg Gate, the Arc de Triomphe, Westminster, the Pentagon, the Parthenon, the Pantheon, and various imperial obelisks and ziggurats. Originally active beehives containing colonies of Sugarbag bees—native, stingless bees of Australia—the installation was first displayed in the Sydney Botanical Gardens. Now inactive, the work draws attention to the threat facing native species such as the Sugarbag bee, which has become endangered in Sydney but is gradually being reintroduced. By juxtaposing symbols of imperial power with fragile ecosystems, Hall reflects on the ongoing impact of colonisation on First Peoples and comments on the ecological consequences of introducing foreign species.

 

Fall Prey, created for dOCUMENTA (13), features sculptures of endangered animals from the United Nations Red List. Each creature is constructed from the military fatigues of its native country, resembling hunting trophies or taxidermy specimens. Hall combines traditionally masculine materials with feminine craft techniques such as sewing, weaving, and beading, to explore the entanglement of war, power, and environmental destruction. Military uniforms—emblems of national might—are transformed into poignant reminders of the disregard for nature, wildlife, and human life in the pursuit of dominance. Together, these works question humanity’s impact on the planet and contemplate the precarious future of its species.