Life Support was presented by Ruup & Form as part of Meditation in Material at Collect International Art Fair for Contemporary Craft and Design in 2021. Bringing together artists working across sculpture, textiles, ceramics, and material-led installation, the exhibition considered the altered pace and heightened introspection that emerged during a period of global uncertainty and isolation.
Presented online as part of Collect’s digital edition, the exhibition was also installed within Ruup & Form’s gallery space in London, where works could be viewed by appointment. Within this quieter physical setting, Townsend exhibited works from the Life Support series, introducing wax botanical sculpture informed by themes of preservation, vulnerability, ecology, and care.
Positioned amongst practices exploring material process and states of contemplation, the work reflected on forms of attention shaped by both scientific observation and lived experience. The exhibition marked an important early presentation of Life Support within an international contemporary context.
Discussion of Life Support by specialists from the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal College of Art (from 28:00).