Discover the work of Dr Fidel Meraz and Canadian artist Jonathan Luckhurst, two artist-researchers pushing architecture beyond pure functionality and aesthetics towards a built environment that serves people and the planet.

Jonathan Luckhurst will present his project Proposals for Reimagined Futures which looks to the Earth's distant past to understand how to survive its future.

Dr Fidel Meraz explores how cultural identity, history and sensory perception shape the way we experience buildings — and what that means for the spaces we share. He'll explore his current work at the historic Jacob Wells Baths, soon to become Trinity Arts Centre's additional new home.

Format:

Two 20-minute artist presentations, followed by a live Q&A.

The evening concludes with an opportunity for networking.

Artist Bios

Jonathan Luckhurst integrates natural processes and ecological systems into immersive artworks that reframe our relationship to the built environment and the natural world. His works are conceived as deep time echoes — incorporating ancient life forms and ecologies that have appeared throughout Earth’s history in response to moments of distress, to highlight and understand our current moment of crisis. Through them, his works become conceptual biomimicry, re-enactments of ecological strategies, mirroring rhythms of decay and proliferation, alluding to how both humans and the Earth might respond.

Luckhurst is the recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Edmonton Arts Council. In 2015, he was invited to participate in the Vancouver Biennale International Artist Residency Program, and in 2020, he was commissioned by the Art Gallery of Alberta to create an installation for the BMO World of Creativity Gallery. His current work, Proposals for Reimagined Futures, was published by the Vancouver Biennale in 2025. He received his Bachelor of Science in Cell Biology and Genetics from the University of British Columbia and is the founder of Sea to Sky Botanics — a social enterprise that implements food sovereignty projects in northern communities. Luckhurst’s pragmatic, real-world experience with food sovereignty initiatives anchors and guides his approach to making art while creating layers within his work that could not be achieved otherwise.

www.jonathanluckhurst.ca
@jonathanluckhurst

Dr Fidel Meraz is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture at UWE, Bristol. His research explores philosophical and phenomenological approaches to architectural places, with particular attention to temporality, collective memory, heritage conservation, cultural identity and wellbeing. His work examines how sensory perception, including sound and visual experiences and documentation, shapes our interpretation of the built environment.

Alongside his academic research, Fidel has pursued practice-based explorations of heritage spaces through photographic and installation-oriented work. His current research includes the Jacob Wells Baths project in Bristol, which investigates the phenomenology of conservation and the sensory dimensions of historic environments via photography. 

https://people.uwe.ac.uk/Person/FidelMeraz
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fidel-meraz-8873444/
https://bristolshock.blog/

About Phylum:

Phylum Artist Talks presents artists and designers working at the intersection of ecology, sustainability and social practice. Creatives today play a vital role in bridging the gap between research and positive action. Taking place in Bristol, our programme brings together established and emerging artists to share future-facing projects and explore the most pressing issues of our time. 

Submissions:

Phylum is dedicated to including perspectives from as many diverse voices as possible. To register your interest in participating in a future talk, please email us: [email protected].