Civilisation Studies is an ongoing intensive drawing investigation by Richard Moss into objects at the British Museum in London. The series traces forms, materials, and objects across cultures, attentive to themes of displacement and immigration.

He finds different motifs and reference points from the collection: a fragmented Hellenistic leopard recalls the nature reserves of Moss's South African childhood; the turbulence of a Van Gogh sky is glimpsed in an Assyrian frieze. The works unite crosscurrents, with displaced objects and unsettled histories, a reflection of Moss’s own path relocating from South Africa abroad.

Moss embraces humour and the absurd: monkeys strum harps, rats play flutes, figures dance and gesticulate, reminding us that civilisation is equally shaped by folly, play, and imagination.

Forms are often fractured or incomplete, rendered with raw immediacy that heightens their sense of dislocation. The paper becomes active—its abrasions, smudges, and tonal shifts mirroring both erosion and survival. Civilization is shown not as fixed, but as restless and dynamic— fragmented, shifting, and enduring.

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