Sunset of the Arowana Industry

Josie Rae Turnbull

The Sparkle of the Kin employs my concept of ‘Factual Fable’ to investigate the complex relationships between humans and the Arowana fish, contextualising these interactions within the colonial histories of Malaysia and Singapore. By casting Arowana fish as Actant, this ongoing visual art project critiques their transformation into ‘lively commodities’ within the luxury ornamental fish industry, where their value is constructed through manufactured scarcity, and enhanced through cosmetic surgeries.

Informed by material experimentation, literary and historical research, my work delves into the legacy of British colonialism and extractivist industries such as rubber, tin, and palm oil in the region. The narrative of the Arowana—an endangered species subject to mass production and the fickleness of human taste, echoes the environmental and social impacts of these industries.

By reimagining the traditional didactic role of fables, The Sparkle of the Kin challenges conventional ways of perceiving and constructing animals, questioning whether recent ethical advances truly protect animals that are still treated as marketable goods. I visualise the imagined fate of an Arowana fallen from grace – a former champion, now cast aside. Littered with the ephemera of success – rosettes, certificates, and branded merchandise – there is a sense of tragedy woven into the works, asking us to consider the true cost of our desires. My studio practice prioritises everyday consumer items; false nails, broken toys, doilies, juxtaposed with repurposed fast fashion garments and textiles – the aftermath of overproduction and consumption. The mediums mirror the rapid cycle of desirability familiar to the Arowana and much like the tragic arc of the fish’s stardom, reminds us of the daunting lifespan of consumer goods, that far exceeds their moment in the spotlight.

Josie Rae Turnbull: I am an interdisciplinary artist and freelance artist facilitator/educator based in London, with a practice that currently spans textiles, sculpture, printmaking, and lens-based media. I completed an MA in Fine Art and Science at Central Saint Martins in 2022, after spending several years working in Ho Chi Minh City. My recent work spotlights relationships between animate and inanimate ecosystems, driven by a fascination with chaotic systems and the uncanny by-products of various industries.

In my practice, I am particularly interested in the concept of the ‘absolute fake’, using it as a tool to reveal latent truths about our excessive systems of extraction. Through bricolage and chance processes, I recode throwaway consumer materials, to create visual languages led by artificial colour relationships and material glitches. This exploration often leads to absurdist projects that interrogate the intersections of the animate, inanimate, artificial, and hyperreal.

Since 2021, my research has evolved into what I term ‘factual fables’ – narratives that blend real-world case studies with elements of science fiction to satirize human failings through specific animal protagonists. My current work, funded by the Arts Council DYCP grant in November 2023, focuses on creating visual fables for the Arowana fish, and a ‘mass produced endangered species.’

In September-November 2023, I presented a solo show, ‘Saline Shock!’ at Orleans House Gallery in Richmond, which expanded on my MA final project and subsequent large-scale installation commissioned by Vincom Centre for Contemporary Art in Hanoi (September-December 2022). This project was nominated for the UAL/Clifford Chance Graduate Sculpture Award 2022/2023.