His research-based projects study the built environment as an archaeological record, revealing our complex cultural values and the local histories of environmental transformation. His precise minimal works are distilled from prolonged site investigations, archival research and personal relationships. Recent projects have traced landfill contamination in urban aquifers, the concrete engineering of urban watercourses, the metabolism of Roman fountains and the sedimentary processing of technological waste. These narratives localise our understanding of the global influence of urban culture upon the cycles and flows of nature.
Griffiths holds a Master of Fine Art from Monash Art Design & Architecture (2018) supervised by Callum Morton and Nicholas Mangan, and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Victorian College of the Arts (2007). He has exhibited internationally since 2010 including Museo MACRO (Rome), Villa Medicis (Rome), Centrum (Berlin), 19th Biennale of Sydney (2014), Station Gallery (Melbourne), and Esbjerg Kunstmuseum (Denmark). He has undertaken residencies in Sydney, Rome, Copenhagen, Paris, Mauritius, regional France and is currently a studio artist at Gertrude Contemporary.
Floodlight 2100
Floodlight 2100 is a proposition for a floating beacon that floods the banks of Melbourne’s tidal estuaries with reflected light. Anchored at key points along the city’s waterways, the hi-powered light-system will project through the water-surface, animating the bridges and embankments with fluid patterns known as ‘caustics’ up to 2 metres above the surrounding shoreline. Recent modelling has forecast sea-level rise of up to 2 metres by 2100. The work aims to produce an aesthetic encounter with this imagined future, and prompt public audiences to consider the local implications of these global changes. The work will be visible during twilight and evening hours.
Floodlight 2100, seeks to re-orient our perception of the city in relation to its waterline. Built on a low-lying plain, Melbourne is a tidal city defined by its river estuaries, which swell and recede twice daily. The historical transformations of Melbourne’s waterways since colonisation have hugely expanded the area influenced by tides, making it especially prone to floods and tidal inundation. The sculpture itself will take the form of a navigation beacon – a non-descript piece of infrastructure, carefully designed to project this effect up to 2 metres above the water line.
The proposed project will present a tangible and engaging experience of climate data, in local and familiar environments. Working in physical space based on thorough site-research, the work will provide an embodied encounter with the abstract figures and concepts associated with global climate change.