Ackroyd & Harvey, ‘Conflicted Seeds + Spirit’
David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge
Venue: David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge, 2013-2016
A temporary exhibition and permanent public artworks are part of a series of works commissioned by the University of Cambridge as part of the redevelopment of the David Attenborough Building. It explores ideas relating to conservation, biodiversity, the Museum’s collections and human ecologies and draws inspiration from the Department of Zoology and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative.
In 2013 Ackroyd & Harvey were awarded a major public art commission in response to the redevelopment of the iconic Brutalist building designed by Arup Associates in the 1960’s. The building is now a new home to the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) , the Department of Zoology and the University Museum of Zoology.
This pioneering relationship celebrates the advancement of research, practice and public engagement with the natural world and protection of biodiversity. It will house over 500 academics, practitioners and students from the University and its CCI partner organisations.
Following a period of consultation with academics from the Department of Zoology, researchers and directors from the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Ackroyd & Harvey initiated a series of works that address the interdependence that exists between the partners who will inhabit the new building and aims to build on the links between fundamental biology, global conservation, museum collections and human ecologies.
Credits:
Artist: Ackroyd & Harvey
Artists Project Manager: Elizabeth Newell
Commissioner: University of Cambridge
Art consultancy: Commission Projects
Architects: Nicholas Hare Architects
Collaborator: The Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
Collaborator: University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge
Collaborator: Cambridge Conservation Initiative
Collaborator: Cambridge University Botanic Gardens
Funders: University of Cambridge
Images:
Ackroyd & Harvey
'Conflicted Seeds + Spirit Pangolin'
'Conflicted Seeds + Spirit Baobab'
'Conflicted Seeds + Spirit Tarsier'
'Slate Work East'
'Slate Work South'
'David Attenborough Building Plans'
'Seeing Red ... Overdrawn'
'Conflicted Seeds + Spirit', installation views, David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge