The Crystal World
Pia Borg
11 February 2012 - 18 April 2012

Pia Borg explores modern and historical visions of the future through animation, reflecting on time and perception in the digital age.

Using stop-motion and live action choreography, the artist conjures historical and fictional reconstructions of the past. Her use of traditional 16mm film and projection encourages a sense of recall.

The exhibition is named after J.G.Ballard’s dystopian science fiction novel, The Crystal World, where a viral crystal transforms trees, animals and humans into jewels, suspended forever in the present. Borg’s film explores the process of crystallisation, using projectors, mirrors, prisms, models, crystals and time-lapse photography. Two other films by the artist are also shown in the exhibition - The Automaton (2009) and Scaffold (2010), offering a chronicle of her practice over the last few years.


Pia Borg was born in Australia and is currently based in London. She won first prize at RE:animate, Oriel Davies Open 2010 and this exhibition was given as part of her prize. The Crystal World is her first UK one-person exhibition.