On A Knife Edge

The UK is at risk of losing a quarter of its mammal species according to a new report authored by 70 British wildlife charities. The Wild Cat, common Dormouse and the Greater Mouse-eared Bat are among those species teetering on the edge of disappearing. In the State of Nature Report 2019, the first of its kind conducted in partnership with the government, confirms what we are already becoming slowly aware of the undeniable fact that nature and resources are in decline; 41 percent of UK species studied have noticeably fewer numbers than when the rigorous scientific study began in the 1970s. Reading the report should alarm us all. 15 percent of species native to the UK – nearly 1,200 – are threatened with extinction partly because of intensive agriculture and climate change. Habitats are disappearing as we surge forward with technology and intensive farming. Hedgerows are now a rare sight in our countryside. Lowland wetlands are threatened by drainage, water pollution, air pollution, peat extraction – the list goes on and on.

This exhibition is a visual call to action – a reminder of what we could possibly lose. Over 30 artists, established and young upcoming students will take part, including QEST David Blackburn Scholar Lisi Ashbridge, working on stone, wood and paper. The show will highlight the plight of some of the resources, habitats and species that we are in danger of losing in the UK.