Marguerite Humeau

Marguerite Humeau, born 1986, Cholet, Maine-et-Loire,France.

Marguerite Humeau is interested in speculation, especially in the face of annihilation—whether reimagining the voices of prehistoric creatures or simulating the breathing of fish adapting to increasingly precarious ecosystems. Her work often takes the form of immersive installations—sometimes incorporating organic matter and even smell—which manifest her interest in myths, ecological crises, and enforced changes in animal and human behavior in the service of survival. Often working closely with experts ranging from paleontologists to clairvoyants, Humeau develops new conceptions of how living beings might exist in the world. For her 2023 exhibition meys at White Cube, London, that included her series of Guardian sculptures, she reflected: “There are forms of life that will survive us. How can we take them as our guides or companions to understand how to navigate our own futures?” These works take the communal practices of eusocial insects (ants, termites, bees) as their inspiration; The Guardian of Termitomyces represents the symbiotic relationship between termites and fungus, each component crafted in tactile materials as various as wax, glass, and wood eaten by fungi, collaged together to form a totem-like being.These relationships led the artist to consider analogous rituals in human society, for example the centrality of yeast—integral to both beer and bread—in human gatherings.