5BY7, The Brothers Gruchy, 6 channel video installation, 2008
Pullman Hotel - Olympic Park Sydney

The history of this planet is believed to be just under 5 Billion Years
at a moment when the global population approaches 7 Billion - two figures inextricably linked in an equation that defines the entirety of our existence.

Are human beings capable of comprehending such vast timescales and population numbers? On one hand our sense of defined boundaries protects us from being overwhelmed by the enormity of the cosmos, while conversely this same inability may limit our comprehension of the interrelatedness of life forms on Earth, thus causing us to endanger our very existence on this shared planet.

Over the time the Earth has formed, life has evolved with an ever-increasing diversity and complexity. We live incredibly short and fast lives in comparison to our ancient planet. What if the passage of life on Earth to date was concentrated and held within a test tube that possessed not only the history of all life forms but their information structure. Would it run simulations and create new universes? - one hopes this imagining is a cause for reflection.