NOH/WAVE is pleased to present James Mountford’s Last Common Ancestor, an exhibition of new works, his second with the gallery. "Therefore I should infer from analogy that probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial form, into which life was first breathed” - On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin This form known as last common ancestor is the most recent population of organisms from which all organisms now living on earth have a common descendant. Born 3.5 billion years ago in a primordial soup or a deep sea vent this tentative existence bore life to us all. 355 of your very own genes projected over the enormity of a billion years. How simple or complex could this life have been, how many iterations, dead ends and spectacular transformations has this tiny candle of life undergone to lead us to our current body? Occupying a liminal space between the real and imaginary Mountford’s latest body of work explores evolutionary theories of origins, creation, mortality, through photography, time sensitive sculpture, video and live performance.