The Sewer Soaperie was part of ‘Are You Ready?’, an art exhibition held from 13-18 October 2024 alongside the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) in Manila, the Philippines. The opening of the event included Mr. Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction; The Honourable Maria Antonia “Toni” Jugo Yulo-Loyzaga, environment secretary of the Philippines; and SM Prime Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans Sy.

The “Are You Ready?” art exhibition presents a wide range of artworks that show the challenges and solutions related to disaster risk reduction in Asia and the Pacific. It highlights the role of art as a powerful form of education to raise awareness and inspire action to build more resilient communities, as is the theme of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2024. The exhibition also commemorates the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 20 years on.

The exhibition was organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) with the support of the Philippine Government and SM Prime, and with contributions from the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It was curated by Dr. Hannah Entwisle Chapuisat.

The Sewer Soaperie (2016) is an artscience project that turns sewage into luxury soaps. During extreme storms in the Anthropocene, many cities are ill-equipped to handle the flooding that follows. One reason is the coagulated grease in the sewers, with some as big as airplanes and nicknamed “fatbergs”. Among the sources of grease is used oil or fatty waste that is poured into sinks, which drains into the sewers and hardens in the pipes. The world already experiences extreme storms because of the climate crisis, and cities will experience even more flooding if exacerbated by human actions. The Sewer Soaperie takes samples from different points of the journey of oil — from raw palm oil, used cooking oil, and sewage. These were sterilized and turned into luxury soaps through the artist’s saponification experiments. 

The Sewer Soaperie. Images by Studio Catherine Sarah Young.

Thank you, everyone!

Exhibition images courtesy the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines, and Dr. Hannah Entwisle Chapuisat and the APMCDRR.

I gave a talk in this cool speaker series in Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada this November 3, 5pm-7pm (November 4, 8am-10am Sydney) on my artscience and sustainability practice. It was an honour to speak with our keynote speaker, Dr. Benjamin Bolden (music educator, composer, and UNESCO Chair in Arts and Learning at Queen’s University); Evan Sharma (multidisciplinary artist); Ren Challacombe (PhD candidate and choral arranger); and Heather Haynes (artist). Exhibit Change is a Queen’s Club that aims to inform the community about social issues and uses the power of art as a conduit for advocacy. Thank you for having me!

I am stunned to share that my artwork, Arctic Ice Chess, won third place in the 10th Tashkent Biennale in Uzbekistan last week! My deepest thanks to our tireless curator Sukhrob Kurbanov; Akmal Nurodinov, Chairman of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan; the esteemed jury: Adam Budak (Germany), Her Excellency Sheikha Mai Bint Mohammend Al-Khalifa (Bahrain), Chang Min Lim (South Korea), Hu Muqing (China) and Ing Phousera (France); the incredible biennale team; and the wonderful volunteers who translated for us and kept everything running smoothly. 

Arctic Ice Chess is a melting chess game about the climate crisis and how the resulting sea level rise and geopolitical race for Arctic petroleum deposits affect the world. It was borne in 2021 as part of my PhD dissertation in UNSW Sydney School of Art and Design. That this work brings so many communities together reflects how the climate crisis connects us all, calling for action to reduce fossil fuel emissions and aligning with the biennale’s theme, ‘Art and World’. 

The video of Game 1 is between Gorm Gunnarsen, a politician and then-candidate for mayor in Copenhagen, and Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen, military lecturer of the Danish Armed Forces. Game 1 was curated in 2021 by my dear friend the indefatigable curator Malou Solfjeld, organised by SixtyEight Art Institute who also edited the videos, and played on a boat owned by Neils Heilberg and docked on Copenhagen Harbour. Part of the research was funded in 2019 by the Kone Foundation in Finland.

I am deeply grateful for the chance to exhibit one of my favourite projects and to teach a masterclass at the Central Exhibitions Hall at the Academy of Arts in Uzbekistan, sharing my PhD research and practice. I also had the privilege of giving a lecture at the State Museum in Memory of the Victims of the Repressions, an institution dedicated to the memory of the people who fought for the independence of Uzbekistan for the biennale’s International Scientific and Practical Conference with the theme, ‘Nationality and Universality in Contemporary Art: The Individual of Understanding and Interpretation’.

I have always seen biennales as a form of diplomatic exchange – like a caravanserai – and although I have never visited this part of the world, I believe it is important to fill in the gaps of one’s understanding. I was mesmerised by the beauty of Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, crucial Silk Road cities, where ideas and cultures have mingled for centuries. 

Most importantly, I am thankful for the friendships I made with artists from this side of the planet. Despite me coming all the way from Australia, when you share each other’s baby pictures, dance to Uptown Funk and the Macarena, and come to my rescue when I got food poisoning, then language and cultural difference matter less. I will always remember everyone’s kindness and hospitality. I hope our paths cross again soon! Uzbekistan will always be in my heart. ❤️

One of my projects is on this list of artists working on the climate crisis in El Periódico, a daily newspaper based in Barcelona, Spain. ‘Climate Change Couture’ was a series I started in Singapore in 2013, collaborating with sustainability researchers as an artist-in-residence at Singapore-ETH Centre to co-create garments we might wear under various climate futures. I’m honoured to be on a list of artists I admire, such as Olafur Eliasson (I cited his and Minik Rosing’s work, ‘Ice Watch’, in my PhD), Ai Weiwei, and others. Most importantly, I consider this a full circle moment, because back when I used to live in Barcelona for art school, I would read El Periódico to improve my Spanish. Reading this today made me smile — because I understood the text. Gracias!

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security whose mission is helping people before, during and after disasters, profiles The Sewer Soaperie in their newsletter Climate Chronicles.

Download the entire newsletter here. Thank you to Ryan Bourgart for reaching out!

I finally attended my graduation ceremony at UNSW on 22 August 2024. For PhDs, you wear a bonnet and they read out your thesis title. You also doff the bonnet as a sign of respect. I doff the bonnet virtually to you all! Petrichor rules!

(Brooklyn, New York)—Jejune Magazine, a socially aware fashion and art publication, features Creative Minds Against Climate Change. I’m honoured to be on a list with artists I admire, such as Bahia Shehab and Camille Seaman. The image shows Experiments in Nature (2017), a series of performances and installations of scientific experiments in nature, conducted in an artscience residency in the Amazon Rainforest in Manaus, Brazil. Read the article here.

It was wonderful to be part of the planning committee and to attend the first Asia-Pacific reunion of the Obama Leadership Network in Bangkok a couple of weeks ago, with the tireless staff from the Foundation and Auntie Maya Soetoro. It was a joy to be with people I have known for years but only met in person just then, or after a long time. I am inspired by your work and love bringing arts, culture, science, and design to you all. Love and gratitude!

27 June 2024

My PhD is officially conferred today, and never again will I have to choose between Ms./Mrs./Miss ever again.

It’s a relief to announce that I’ve finally completed my PhD, which began late 2019, pre-Covid (which meant it was in the Beforetime, which feels like millennia ago). Until I get conferred sometime this year, this will be the last period of my life where my title will be Ms. 😎