Anthronauts: Trilobite invites us to look at the world in a different way. The steel sculpture is pierced with 120 glass lenses that distort the surroundings, offering an alternative view of the environment. By taking an active role with the work, the artist asks us to be more aware of the lived reality of other life forms, and the limits of human perception.

Trilobites are extinct marine animals that lived for around 300 million years. The creatures had eyes made up of many lenses, which are mimicked in Abigail’s sculpture with 120 glass lenses to see through. The position and focal lengths of the lenses imitate how a trilobite might have seen the world. Their lenses were crystals of a mineral we call Iceland Spar. These ancient creatures did not perceive one single picture like our binocular vision, but an array of adjacent images. They were wiped out as a result of a mass extinction that killed 90% of all species on Earth 250 million years ago. Today, fossils of trilobites are found all over the world.

Abigail’s practice explores our relationship to time, and her work tells stories of lost histories. Trilobite is one of three works in Abigail’s Anthronauts series, commissioned for Picturing Childhood: A new perspective at Chatsworth. The Anthronauts invite us to see in a non-human way.

Abigail Reynolds (b.1970) lives and works in Cornwall. She studied English Literature at Oxford University and Fine Art at Goldsmiths University, London. Working across sculpture, print and film, she is best known for her collage works of printed photographs that explore the subjects of time and space and question the way we look at the world. Her work is held in many public collections, including Arts Council Collection and The Government Art Collection.

Anthronauts: Trilobite was commissioned by Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, and exhibited there in 2024.