100 endangered species, 100 original illustrations and 100 tattooed ambassadors are bought together for a unique social experiment in arts and ecology.
Manchester
based arts collective Ultimate Holding Company have created a unique response
to species loss in the UK through drawing, photography, video and tattoo art.
The results of the project will be shown for the first time in Scotland as We are extInked; an exhibition opening at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on 12th May 2012.
We are
extInked began in 2009 as part of the celebrations to mark the bicentennial of
Charles Darwin’s birth. Ultimate Holding Company identified 100 rare or
endangered species in a collaboration with major conservation organisations.
The selected species, all indigenous to the UK, were then meticulously
reproduced as original pen and ink drawings by artist Jai Redman. At an open
exhibition of the drawings, the public were invited to become an ambassador for
a species. Out of the 500 who applied, 100 were selected and tattooed with
their species at a special event over three days.
We are
extInked brings together for the first time the original pen and ink drawings,
documentary footage and extraordinary photographic portraits of the ambassadors
created on a rare 19th century camera by Anatomy Projects. The
artists’ work will be shown alongside specimens from the Royal Botanic Garden
Edinburgh’s Herbarium collections and documentation of the progress of the 100
volunteer ambassadors as they work to protect and advocate for their species.
The
exhibition launches at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on 12th May 2012 and
will be located in the Gateway Gallery. It has been programmed to coincide with
Scottish Biodiversity week. As part of the exhibition, the Royal Botanic Garden
Edinburgh will also host two family weekend events celebrating the extInked
project and promoting conservation within the local area.
Elinor
Gallant, Exhibitions Officer at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh commented:
“We are extremely pleased to be hosting the ‘We
are extInked’ exhibition. It is an exciting project and a great example of
how conservation and species loss can inspire action in the most unusual and
creative of ways."
Jai
Redman, Creative Director at Ultimate Holding Company commented: "UHC are
delivering exciting contemporary visual arts projects that have a real social
impact. This is the latest of our projects to challenge people to seriously
question what it means to be committed to an environmental cause, and what role
the artist plays in inspiring change."
We are
extInked runs until 29th July 2012.
The project is supported by the National Lottery
through Arts Council England and MIRIAD. Touring
partners include The Manchester Museum, Smiths Row, Royal Botanic Garden
Edinburgh and Rugby Art Gallery & Museum. With special thanks to The
People's Trust for Endangered Species, Buglife, The Marine Conservation
Society, The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Highland Tiger: The Wild Cat and The
Royal Zoological Society Scotland.
- - - - -
For further
information about the exhibition and the weekend events please visit
www.extinked.org.uk or http://www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/event-details/2270.
1) WE ARE EXTINKED
We are extInked is an exhibition of extInked, a participatory arts and
ecology project launched in 2009 by Ultimate Holding Company.
The Royal
Botanic Garden Edinburgh is one of four venues that will host the exhibition
between May 2011 and November 2012. The exhibition will reach a wide public
across the UK and inspire and encourage audiences to protect the flora and
fauna surrounding them. As the exhibition travels the UK it will constantly
change in response to the work of the ambassadors and the status of the species
that it features and the location it will be exhibited. Each venue will host
educational activities and public events to inspire and promote interest and action
around ecology and conservation. Many of these activities will be led by the
ambassadors in conjunction with ecologists, educationalists and artists.
The tour will document the legacy of the project from
its inception in 2009, through to the current work of the ambassadors. The
primary focus of the tour will be to showcase the work of the project’s
ambassadors providing audiences with a unique insight into the potential for
art and socially engaged practice to explore and influence UK efforts to
prevent species loss.
The extInked project was presented in proud association
with the assistance of The
Marine Conservation Society, Buglife (The Invertebrate Conservation Trust), The
People’s Trust for Endangered Species, Anatomy Projects and Leeds Based
tattooists Ink Vs Steel. It was supported by Arts Council England grants for
the arts and MIRIAD.
extInked was identified as one of the RSA’s Arts and Ecology
project highlights of 2009.
Website: www.extinked.org.uk
Blog: www.extinked.blogspot.com
Twitter: @extinked
2) ULTIMATE HOLDING COMPANY
Ultimate Holding Company is a creative social
engagement project, artists collective and design studio. It has operated at
the junction of visual art design and socio-political activism since 2002.
UHC’s process driven ethos seeks out co-production and public collaboration,
looking to encourage new connections to the arts through social solidarity.
The portfolio encompasses self-initiated and
commissioned works, each employing a mix of real-world research, performance
and intervention, interconnecting skills from a wide range of traditional and
contemporary disciplines. Most famously the artists imprisoned
9 volunteers in a faithful recreation of the U.S’s Guantanamo Bay internment
facility ‘Camp XRay’. UHC artists have provided the
creative lead on a large-scale government funded environmental awareness
project in Wythenshawe and carried out residencies and periods of engagement in
Barrow-in-Furness, Leeds University and Liverpool (extensive public engagement
exercises on behalf of Liverpool NHS PCT).
Based in Manchester, UHC is becoming recognised as one
of the North West’s most exciting socially engaged arts organisations.
Ultimate Holding Company, 2nd Floor, Hotspur House, 2
Gloucester Street, Manchester, M1 5QR.
Tel: +44 (0) 161 238 8523
Website: www.uhc.org.uk
Blog: www.uhcblog.blogspot.com
Twitter:
@UHCstudio
3) ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH
RBGE press
office - Sandra Donnelly on 0131 248 1037 or Shauna Hay on 0131 248 2900
Website: www.rbge.org.uk
Visitor enquiries: T: 0131 2482909
Twitter: @TheBotanics
Open: Open daily 10am – 6pm.
4) ANATOMY PROJECTS
Anatomy Projects is a collaboration between Gavin Parry
and David Penny, the pair have been working since 2005, making photographic
portraiture using a 19th century studio portrait camera. Initially, the drive
for the project was simply to re-build the camera, make it functional and
experiment to see what kind of images it would make, if any. After a period of
trial, error and persistence this unique photographic process has grown to a
point where the camera becomes an essential part of the investigation into
contemporary photographic portraiture. The artists have been collaborating with
UHC over the past two years creatively documenting art projects such as
extInked and EXAM.
In November 2009, they were commissioned to create a
collection of portraits of the one hundred Ambassadors. The intention was not
to make a documentation of the tattoos but to create a portrait of the
individual, as part of a shared experience of the social experiment. Anatomy
Projects continue to collaborate with UHC as an important project partner
moving forward.
Website: www.anatomyprojects.co.uk
5) FURTHER INFORMATION
Photos of the
Artists, Ambassadors and artwork are available on request.
For further
information please contact:
Kate Houlton - Touring Exhibition Co-ordinator, Ultimate Holding Company.
Email: kate@uhc.org.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 161 238 8523
