Jessica Murtagh, Modern Relic III: Quality time together (detail), apart, 2019, blown glass, sandblasted

HIGHLY COMMENDED 

Museums are filled with the remnants of past civilizations, depicting snippets of what daily life held, from the mundane to the heroic. I wonder what we will leave behind for future generations to unearth. Today we spend much of our time consumed with screens that offer distraction, comfort, information and ultimately isolation. My work explores the benefits technology provides and the distance it creates between people. How will our technologically driven lives be interpreted by future civilizations?

Image courtesy the artist