Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg: Pollinator Pathmaker

22 Jun-18 Sep 2022

Overview

Serpentine launches the first London incarnation of artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg’s Pollinator Pathmaker, kickstarting Back to Earth 2022 activations that will include an exhibition presented at Serpentine North from 22nd June to 18th September 2022. Back to Earth is Serpentine’s continuous multidisciplinary programme evoking reactions to the environmental emergency.
 
In collaboration with The Royal Parks, this third edition of the garden at North Flower Walk, an area measuring 227 metres long in Kensington Gardens, will comprise 4,471 plants including over 60 different species. It will come into bloom early summer after its planting launch this April.  
 
The first edition of the artwork will bloom this spring at the Eden Project, Cornwall, original commissioner of Pollinator Pathmaker, followed by the first international edition presented by LAS (Light Art Space) in Berlin, the international edition founding commissioner.
 
In line with Ginsberg’s artistic practice, Pollinator Pathmaker uses technology to raise awareness of the decline of pollinators, with the ambition to make the world’s largest climate positive artwork. The commission explores the story of the UK’s indigenous pollinators: their vital role, their current plight, and the plans and need for their conservation.
 
Using the data-led method of algorithmic planting found at www.pollinator.art, created in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, the project will focus on the needs of pollinators in the UK by creating planting designed for their tastes, rather than human taste. The artist will develop a methodology for recording and monitoring pollinator activity around the garden, together with scientists and biodiversity experts.
 
To boost the number of pollinators attracted to the area, Serpentine will call for those local to the garden, including communities, schools and friends, to also plant their own Pollinator Pathmaker using this innovative tool. The www.pollinator.art platform uses a special algorithm where plants ‘empathetic’ to pollinating insects are arranged in a unique planting design generated for each gardener’s plot size and garden conditions. Each garden supports the greatest diversity of pollinator species possible.
 
While the dangers facing honeybees are widely publicised, they are not the only pollinators. In the UK for instance, over 250 species of bee play a crucial role in pollination, alongside flies, beetles, wasps, moths and butterflies. Together, these insects pollinate many of our food crops, help the plants in our gardens and countryside to reproduce and flourish, and are a vital part of our ecosystems.
 
Edition Garden 3 is presented with special support from Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation and Google Arts and Culture, and will be on display for the next two years.
 
Originally commissioned by the Eden Project with the support of Garfield Weston Foundation as part of Create a Buzz. Additional partners include Gaia Art Foundation and collaborators Google Arts & Culture. Curated by Misha Curson and Celine Holman.
 
By creating a series of international edition gardens, Pollinator Pathmaker is growing into a global art-led campaign to save the world’s pollinators. A mission that is enhanced by the first international commissioner, LAS (Light Art Space) in Berlin, Germany.

Artists