About
Rush Drayton is a sculptor, design engineer and creative technologist who once dressed in shaggy wool coats, crawling into mobs of sheep to better understand what it was like to be part of a herd.
Now, his transdisciplinary practice focuses on ecological inquiry to reestablish coexistence and dissolve boundaries between humans and the natural world. His work dissects umwelt—the sensory worlds of animals—and ecology to better design for our cohabitants. His exploration of interconnectedness, as described by James Bridle, Ed Yong, Keggie Carew, and Heather Barnett, drives his pursuit to foster resilient futures and challenge anthropocentrism.
Drayton believes art and design are on the verge of a paradigm shift—moving beyond biomimicry to embrace nonhuman life as collaborators in creating interconnected environments and technologies that benefit all species. Through generations of systemic disconnection, abuse of power, greed, and a misguided sense of ‘intelligence,’ we have fundamentally corrupted our world. We are no greater than nonhuman life—our survival depends on recognising our shared existence and dismantling the illusion of superiority.
Through accessible and impactful mediums, Drayton’s pursuit is to construct nonhuman sensory systems—making destruction visible, fostering empathy, and dismantling human exceptionalism. In the end, he is still that child in the sheep’s costume, searching for connection.