Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Milo Cummins 

BA [Hons] Art

Milo Cummins is an artist from Co. Sligo, living in Dublin. His work is primarily video-based, although he takes a versatile approach, incorporating musical composition, quirky animations and scripted performance. His work is driven by an interest in the disparity between the human world and the natural world. As a reaction to the current environmental crisis, he asks the question: ‘How can humans be so destructive to the very ecosystem that they originated from?’. He exhibited in the IADT student shows Perceived Dimensions (IMMA, 2018) and High Heart (Pallas Projects / Studios, 2021).

Project Description

My works often feature a guide or storyteller who addresses the audience directly. These characters have a trustworthy quality but they tell unwelcome truths. Combining song, verse, or narrative, these characters often warn about impending environmental disaster. These characters may exist outside time, standing apart from humanity, but they use very familiar forms. I deliberately borrow from popular media, such as animation, advertising, cinema and musical entertainment, which usually communicate a sense that everything is fine. My work also incorporates everyday objects. Pieces of discarded plastic, roughened by time spent at sea, often find their way into my work. I am drawn to these plastic objects because they are a reminder of human activity. To me, they communicate a sense that the end of ordinary human life might be drawing near.