Max Athans: Breathform

Confusing and uncanny, intriguing and repellent, Max Athans' 3D-printed sound sculptures hybridise human and animal, doll and machine. In Breathmachine, a bellows is connected to multiple horns. In Dogwhistle, a human torso is joined to a dog's head, which conceals a single horn. It suggests an unethical science experiment and recalls the Egyptian god Anubis. The horns in both works are visibly activated using articulated joints and latex lungs, with the works swelling and craning before releasing their semi-musical exhalations. Like early automata, Athans's sculptures are limited to repetitive gestures, which fill the space with audible breath, living through their ability to keep breathing.

Athans is the 2025 recipient of the Jeremy Hynes Award.