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Date: August 19-30, 2022

Location: Bristol, UK

Project: Public Art Commission - temporary

Partners: The Natural History Consortium

Supporters: BioImaging UK, Bristol City Council, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Mesolab at the University of Strathclyde, The Royal Microscopical Society, West of England Combined Authority

Artists: Ivan Morison + Heather Peak

We are delighted to present leading contemporary artists, Ivan Morison and Heather Peak, who designed two temporary artworks that were suspended above Broadmead in Bristol, 19-30 August 2022. OVERSTORY was a site-specific outdoor installation, giving a view into the microscopic world of trees and asking visitors to celebrate and consider how they are folded into our lives through their presence around us, their functions within our shared ecosystems, the stories they tell, and the role we can all play in creating and protecting the natural spaces in our cities. Heather Peak discussed the project with Steve Yabsley at BBC Radio Bristol and Ivan Morison spoke with The Linnean Society of London - listen here

The artworks highlighted the importance of urban tree cover and encouraged the public to venture outside and discover their local parks, wildlife reserves, and older neighbourhoods to experience the diversity of native trees around Bristol and the stories they tell about the City. The two artworks, both 65 m2 were installed 8 metres above ground at either end of Broadmead West, a pedestrianised pathway in the heart of Bristol.

OVERSTORY roots itself in two opposing scales, the micro made large, and the global made local. The pair of suspended pleated structures, featuring bright, microscopic cellular tree systems, created a strong geometric zig zag profile in the sky, shifting the view as visitors passed beneath.

The artists traversed the city and found two trees whose stories reflect the true spirit of Bristol - a fairly anonymous Lime, buried deep near the back of Arnos Vale Cemetery and the commemorative Oak that sits at the heart of Sea Mills Estate, planted over 100 years ago.

The microscopic imagery was created by working in concert with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Mesolab, at The University of Strathclyde’s collections, captured using advanced technology; that reveals the complex organisation of tree life at the micron-scale. The digital image of the Oak, produced by Alicia Musson, Collections Assistant at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is taken from a slide created by Jeanna Palmer-Wilson. The cross section of wood was imaged with brightfield illumination using a ZEISS Axio Scan Z1 microscope.

The Lime tree specimen was captured using the Mesolens, a giant microscope designed for high-resolution imaging of large specimens. Its founder, Professor Gail McConnell from the University of Strathclyde and current Chair of the Royal Microscopical Society’s Light Microscopy Section, explained “We are using the Mesolens to image many different kinds of biological specimens including plants, bacteria, and fungi; the bright features of the images are from naturally occurring molecules present in the tissues”. Dr Liam Rooney, Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society and Research Associate at the University of Strathclyde, added, “This Tilia specimen demonstrates the complex organisation of cells arranged into specialised layers of tissues. Its tiny holes are sections of long tubes that transport nutrients and water along the stem of the plant”.

After the artworks were taken down, all of the material was sustainably repurposed by the artists and given a new useful, and beautiful life to be shared with others. Bespoke bags (re-pleating the fabric, creating a shift from architectural to individual) are now held in the permanent collection at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.

Heather Peak (b. 1975, UK) and Ivan Morison (b. 1974, UK) are leading contemporary artists. Heather speaks and consults internationally on the role creativity can play in everyday life and Ivan is also a tutor in sculpture at the Royal College of Art, London. Solo projects and commissions include those at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Yorkshire (2021), Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridgeshire (2019), Trust New Art, The National Trust (2017), Tate Modern, London (2012-2015), South London Gallery, London (2015), Hauser and Wirth, Somerset, (2015), Whitechapel Gallery, London (2014), The Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2014), National Theatre Wales, Cardiff (2013), Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada (2010), representing Wales at the Venice Biennale in 2007 and many others. Ivan Morison and Heather Peak’s previous projects in Bristol include Black Cloud in 2009 and I lost her near Fantasy Island. Life has not been the Same in 2006.

OVERSTORY was produced by PONY and commissioned with The Natural History Consortium, delivered as one of the activities under the City Centre and High Streets Recovery and Renewal programme, funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority’s Love Our High Streets project.

The Natural History Consortium is a charitable collaboration of 14 organisations (including Avon Wildlife Trust, Bath & North East Somerset Council, BBC, Bristol City Council, Forestry England, Bristol Zoo Gardens, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, National Trust, Natural England, University of Bath, University of Bristol, University of the West of England, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Woodland Trust) working together on a shared mission: to develop, test and disseminate best practice to engage everyone with the environment and natural world.