Leo Elia Jung: The Living Diamonds of Yakutia
The work cycle “The Living Diamonds of Yakutia“ consists of a series of sculptures based on an essay with the same title, originally published on DNR in late 2022 as a collaborative effort between artist Leo Elia and writer/economist Jae August.
The work cycle follows ambitious and controversial efforts and claims to revive the extinct woolly mammoth to counter climate change, and captures the prophetic near future as a museum exhibit in a natural history museum by addressing money flows and incentives of various parties driving either resurrection research or fossil resource extraction in Siberia.
Made possible with support from Freundeskreis der HFBK
Map of Colossal Pleistocene Park Yamal, 2023
200cm x 50cm x 100cm
print on metal sheets, hinges, padlocks
Map declaring the entire Yamal Peninsula in northern Siberia a collaborative wildlife park between the Siberian family-run climate change project Pleistocene Park, the U.S. company Colossal, and a green-washed version of natural gas mining company Gazprom.
Charging Mammoth, 2023
2m x 1,6m x 1,5m
cardboard, officially licensed Wall Street Bull figurine, table tops, rubber mat, metal pipe
A cardboard kit sculpture of a mammoth that imitates the stance of the bull sculpture on Wall Street in NYC.
Declaration of Independence: Patent Application, 2023
30cm x 34cm x 176cm
MDF, plexiglas, trompe l’oeil sticker, cardboard, faux fur, Amazon basics picture frame, print on glass, metal parts, rubber mat, platform racks
Synthesized Colossal patent application that frames the mammoth as a human invention.
Gazprom Biogas Plant Model Display, 2023
2m x 1,6m x 1,5m
wooden frame, plexiglass, cable ties, print on camping table, stickers, walnut wood plates, model of a biogas plant made from ethically sourced tusk ivory
A musealized display model for the construction of a biogas plant for Gazprom. The table shows the map of the Yamal Peninsula, where Gazprom’s natural gas mining facilities are omnipresent.
Pleistocene Park Patreon Tier Badge Display, 2023
80cm x 120cm x 143cm
metal pipes, furniture wheels, euro pallets, print on synthetic banners, stickers, cardboard, acrylic artifact stands, plexiglas
The sculpture is centered around a circle of Patreon funding badges that are presented on a 17th century colonial map of Siberia.
The bottom half imitates a marble block showing early celebrity investors to the project of mammoth resurrection, scientific and philosophical claims and an entry sign to a semi-fictional wildlife park.