For the third edition of X Virtual Incubator commission programme, titled ‘Cryptid’, artist Joey Holder explores the limitations of Western scientific taxonomy through the lens of cryptozoology and research on plankton. The multimedia exhibition comprises an AR installation and a two-channel video showing layered footage from laboratory cameras and cryptozoology forums, set to an experimental electronic score by Ptwiggs. Through diagrammatic aesthetics, the artist employs the visual language of science - images derived from microscopy, cosmograms, and illustrative diagrams - to construct the speculative plankton of the underwater world. A ‘Cryptid’ 3D virtual world is available on xvirtual.org for users to explore the unknown, artistic territories of the sea.
A Cryptid is a creature that may or may not exist, disputed by mainstream science. This project speculates on these creatures alongside those that have been ‘captured’ or catalogued by mankind. The mythical depth of cryptids rendered by anecdotal stories and folklore brings about a critical space where pseudoscience comes to challenge mainstream science in this post-truth era. Using 3D modelling, AI generative images of deep sea creatures, and mystical symbology, Holder reveals the interdimensional zone these creatures occupy across popular culture and their crucial role for all lifeforms. Plankton, a catch-all term for microscopic marine creatures, plays a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate and forms the basis of the global food chain. Plankton is broadly defined by ecological niche and motility instead of phylogenetic classification - organisms carried by tides and currents. The artist delves into this taxonomy-defied collection of organisms to examine Western cultural views on Othering.
With 91% of life in the sea falling outside the taxonomic system, remaining unexplored, unnamed, and uncatalogued, ‘cryptids’ becomes an embodiment of the unknown, a slippery term for desire and fear of humans. ‘Cryptid’ stems from critical reflections on Anthropocentrism deeply rooted in Euro-western philosophies. Positioning eco over ego, the project recognises the constraints and consequences such beliefs have imposed on the landscape of modern humanity, science, and biology. It underscores ecological justice and species justice through an multispecies ethnography approach to the world of organisms.
‘Cryptid’ is a cross-disciplinary project informed by the artist’s collaboration with marine biologists, technologists, and fellow artists.
