Studio Swine’s giant "breathing" Eden Project sculpture will pay homage to cyanobacteria

Date
19 December 2017

Studio Swine’s giant “breathing” ceramic sculpture for the Eden Project in Cornwall will pay homage to cyanobacteria, the artist duo says. Commissioned together with Futurecity as the centrepiece to the institution’s forthcoming permanent installation series, Invisible Worlds, the sculpture will celebrate the photosynthetic bacteria, one of the first organisms on the planet to produce oxygen.

Studio Swine founders Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves say they wanted to build a monument to these vital but invisible unsung heroes, in the same way as notable people are commemorated with statues. “Creating an artwork for Eden has been an incredible, perspective-changing experience which we wanted to translate into our installation which changes the way you see and think about the world,” the studio comments. According to the duo it will be the largest of its kind in ceramic, reaching from the ground to the second floor in the core building at Eden.

The Eden Project was awarded £1.9 million by Wellcome in June 2016 to help create Invisible Worlds, including the commission of ten exhibits, which will open in late spring 2018. Eden says the events will “introduce the interconnectedness between life and the Earth’s environments, revealing the invisible life and systems that support our health and help shape life on Earth”.

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Jenny Brewer

Jenny oversees our editorial output across work, news and features. She was previously It’s Nice That's news editor. Get in touch with any big creative stories, tips, pitches, news and opinions, or questions about all things editorial.

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