Stéphanie Kilgast’s sculptural world (previously featured) unfolds like a speculative vision in which human presence has vanished and nature is reclaiming the detritus left behind. In her work, inanimate objects — discarded bottles, alarm clocks, VHS tapes, portable CD players — morph into colonized habitats for fungi, coral, plants, and small animals. Through vibrant color and dynamic form, she proposes a symbiosis between the remnants of human industry and the tenacious vitality of living systems.
Her new book Utopia collects a decade of such explorations, gathering sculptures, paintings, sketchbook pages, and essays. It underscores how even in a post-human ecology, the artifacts of civilization do not disappear quietly; instead, they become the scaffolding for entirely new ecosystems. Each piece is both a ruin and a cradle — the collapse of one order giving rise to another.
In Kilgast’s vision, the boundary between what we once called “waste” and what we call “nature” dissolves. What was once cast aside becomes a substratum for flourishing life, reminding us that transformation often begins where neglect appears most absolute. Her work speaks of cycles — of materials, of decay, of unexpected renewal — and poses gentle challenges about how we live and leave behind.
More info: Website, Instagram.
