Called Tipping Point, the artwork will combine smoke, lights, and sound to simulate forest fire, raising awareness of the alarming speed of global nature loss and the scale of UK pension investments with fossil fuel companies.
Deforestation is fuelling the climate and nature crises, with global rainforest loss happening at a rate of ten football pitches per minute in 2023. Recent scientific evidence indicates the Amazon could reach a tipping point, triggering forest collapse, by 2050.
The installation, which runs from Friday 4 to Sunday, 6 October, will be accompanied by a range of talks. A group of experts including climate scientists, social scientists, and engineers from the University’s Cabot Institute for the Environment, who are at the forefront of research on vegetation fires and the impacts of climate change, will be on hand to answer public questions about the causes and effects of fires and nature loss.
Jo House, Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the Cabot Institute for the Environment, who is leading the group, said: “Forest fires are increasing in frequency and damage. They can be devastating for communities and nature in ways captured by this powerful artwork. It is in our collective hands to take action, which can be as simple as informing ourselves and others.”
Tipping Point has been commissioned by the Botanic Garden and non-profit campaign Make My Money Matter, co-founded by filmmaker and activist Richard Curtis and supported by the Friends of the Botanic Garden.
Research by the campaign shows £300 billion of UK pension investments is linked to deforestation, meaning £2 in every £10 invested in the average UK pension is invested in companies linked to deforestation. This is despite a national poll showing pension holders don’t want their money driving deforestation and believe pension providers should publish policies on becoming deforestation-free. The artwork aims to inspire the public to demand their pension is deforestation-free.
In 2020 the University announced it had divested from all investments in fossil fuel companies and called for the higher education sector pension scheme – Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) – to take more action to combat climate change. In 2021 the USS set out its plan for their investments to be Net Zero by 2050, if not before, and the University of Bristol continues work to try and influence the USS, pushing for this transition. Currently, two-thirds of the UK’s largest pension providers do not have a public policy on deforestation.
In collaboration with BAFTA award-winning composer Dan Jones, the artwork includes an immersive soundtrack with audio capturing the devastating reality of deforestation, such as chainsaws whirring and animals and birds fleeing, as well as interviews with people about their direct experiences of forest fires.
Artist Luke Jerram said: “I’m excited about sharing my new sound and light installation with the public. It’s great to be back working again on such an important arts project with the University’s Botanic Garden team, following the success of the Impossible Garden in 2018.”
Nick Wray, Curator of the Botanic Garden, said: “Botanic gardens are ideal places to tell plant – and environmental – stories, helping bring important science and research to life. The Botanic Garden is hosting this new artwork, as many plant ecosystems rely on natural fires to rejuvenate habitats and stimulate dormant seed to germinate. But the increase in intense, extreme hot fires resulting from worsening climate change are scorching soils and killing plants that have evolved over millions of years to rejuvenate after fire.
“These worrying trends are replicated globally in Australia, California, the Mediterranean regions and the Pacific Northwest, and are spreading to habitats that don’t usually experience fire. This gives a worrying insight into the future of forest fires in a hotter climate.”
Tony Burdon, Chief Executive Officer of Make My Money Matter, said: “The failure of UK pension funds to seriously address deforestation in their investments is risking our future. Tipping Point brings home to UK savers the horrifying impact of this negligence, for people and planet alike. We trust our pension funds with our money, but we can’t trust them to protect our future. We need urgent action now from our pensions and from our government to address the crises we face.”
Tipping Point will take place at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden at The Holmes, Stoke Park Road, Bristol, BS9 1JG on Friday 4, Saturday 5, and Sunday 6 October 2024.
There will be two viewings of the installation each day at 6.30pm and 8pm.
Booking for Tipping Point is essential and can be booked through the online shop. Admission: Adults £7.50; Friends and University staff £5; Alumni, ALL students with ID, children under 18 and essential carers of disabled visitors FREE.