ALL THAT WE HAVE BUILT

All That We Have Built is a two-person exhibition by Ola Hassanain (Netherlands/Sudan) and Aidan Koch (USA) that examines the profound impact of environmental destruction and ecological changes on the collective experience of catastrophe and uninhabitability. Through their individual practices, both artists challenge us to reconsider our relationship to the environment, questioning how natural and human-made landscapes shape and disrupt our lives.

 

Ola Hassanain's practice invites a rethinking of space—its meaning and the ways we inhabit it. Through photography, video, and sound, she creates immersive experiences that engage with themes of identity, displacement, and environmental collapse. Her ongoing project, Tell The Water What The Clay Kept Secret (2023–), reflects on the devastation of Sudan’s Gezira region, where colonial infrastructure in the form a network of water control systems collides with the personal—Hassanain’s grandmother’s house. This intimate "site of catastrophe" serves as a lens through which the artist examines the fractures in both the physical environment and the socio-political landscape, drawing attention to resistance against historical imperial projects.

 

Aidan Koch’s work is rooted in ecological storytelling, blending fine art, comics, and illustration to portray the fragility of landscapes and the effects of human activity on the natural world. Her Days of Red Sun series (2024-25), created in response to the wildfires that ravaged Southern California, offers a poignant meditation on the relationship between humans and nature in the face of environmental neglect. Through delicate drawings and sculpture, Koch explores how urbanisation disrupts local ecosystems, including how ornamental fruits in Southern California sustain coyotes, highlighting the interconnections between human-made environments and the natural world.

 

Together, Hassanain and Koch offer a powerful reminder that the environmental crises we face are not distant or abstract—they are immediate, urgent realities. Their work challenges us to engage deeply with these pressing issues and reflect on the vulnerability of both our built and natural environments.

 

All That We Have Built forms part of the programme of REACH ’25, the second instalment of Queen’s University Belfast’s annual Arts and Sustainability Festival.