The Two Faces of Tomorrow is an experimental documentary-fiction film about algae; how they have shaped all life on the planet, from the deep past to the near future. The film follows a fictional researcher as they traverse ancient Roman baths plagued by toxic blooms; cutting-edge laboratories developing biofuel and food supplements; a natural history museum containing fossilised seaweeds and hominin skulls, and a facility where Martian rovers trundle over a simulated surface of the Red Planet. As the researcher uncovers the relationship between capitalism and algae, algae and the Earth, the Earth and humans, they begin to understand the vast web of violence, extraction and exploitation, across human and non-human lives, that has led to our current moment of climate crisis.
Commissioned by FLAMIN Productions through Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network with funding from Arts Council England. Co-commissioned by the National Sculpture Factory. Produced by Tracy Bass. Supported by The Arts Council of Ireland and Cork International Film Festival.
Patrick Hough’s recent exhibitions include: The Black River of Herself, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, UK and The Museum of Ancient History, UCD Classical Museum, Ireland. He is a recipient of the 2017 Jerwood / FVU Awards.