Life saving, polluting, flexible, toxic and resilient. Plastic is a material riddled with contractions symbolic of our modern world. What might Drogheda look like in the future if we continue on a growth fueled business-as-usual trajectory? What new industries, customs and cultures will emerge? A Giant Leap is a window into this possible future. It’s 2069, the city of Drogheda has prospered as the home of Ireland’s first spaceport and the world renowned guild of polymer technologies. Destiny Corporations ‘BeInfinite’ life extension programme is in its infancy. Eleanor - Pioneer 001, the first transcendence candidate, has just completed phase one of her life extension journey. This immersive audio installation invites you to step into Eleanor’s world and experience her story through uploaded memory fragments. What has compelled Eleanor to take this giant leap of techno-faith and transcend the limitations of humanity?

A speculative exploration of a near-future Drogheda, conceptualised and designed through a place based co-creation workshop, with local participants, in Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda. In collaboration with Patrick Mulvihill & Ciaran Bonner. Commissioned by Science Gallery Dublin. Listen to Eleanor's full story below or search for
'A Giant Leap' on your favourite podcast app.
Testimonial - We worked with Heather Griffin & Patrick Mulvihill for one of our most impactful projects of recent years: CO-CREATING CHANGE, an initiative that paired our exhibition PLASTIC's national tour with local co-creation workshops led by artists. In Drogheda, Heather and Patrick led a two-day workshop with local members of the community, exploring a brief history of the origins of plastic, the dawn of consumption and our global obsession with this cheap material. These talks inspired a journey of co-creation as Patrick and Heather co-designed a brand-new exhibit, called A Giant Leap, with workshop participants. This imagined future world became part of PLASTIC's exhibition in Highlanes Gallery, inspiring a new audience to interrogate their own everyday relationship with sustainability and the pitfalls of throwaway culture. This impactful exhibit aside, Patrick and Heather also worked with us to document the process online, creating blogs and videos to enhance the experience for our audience - and in so doing, reaching even more with their messaging and sparking imaginations across our global audience. We at Science Gallery Dublin are extremely grateful to Heather and Patrick, and thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with them on such an important project.
A Giant Leap (2021)
Video & Installation - Artists - Heather Griffin & Patrick Mulvihill | Video Production - Heather Griffin & Patrick Mulvihill | Model Maker - Ciaran Bonner | 3D Sculptor - Julian King | Set Constructor - Eamon Griffin | Model - Amy Griffin | Audio Drama - Written & Directed - Heather Griffin & Patrick Mulvihill | Music Composition - Heather Griffin & Patrick Mulvihill | Sound Design - Heather Griffin & Patrick Mulvihill | Cast - Aoife - Amy Griffin / Eleanor - Heather Griffin / Husband - Jack O' Shea / Steve - Tommy Griffin / Preacher Daniels - Patrick Mulvihill | Destiny Corp Promo - Written - Heather Griffin & Patrick Mulvihill | Editing - Heather Griffin | Voice over - Patrick Mulvihill | Thank You - Phil Smyth / Bill Mulvihill / Rose Griffin / Mary Mulvihill / Tara Mulvihill / John McCartan / Drogheda workshop participants 
SCIENCE GALLERY / HIGHLANES GALLERY / AMICITIA / TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN / SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND / EPA
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