This artwork by Kelly Briggs explores patterns of growth on different scales, spanning micro to macro. The artist describes how she has been observing samples from an ancient forest near her home and studying its microscopic landscapes. She says: “Looking so deeply into these new lands and their inhabitants feels like space travel – except instead of looking out I’m looking in.” Ancient woodlands are extremely complex ecosystems which have evolved over centuries and harbour very specific communities of native wildlife that can be found nowhere else. In the UK, they only cover 2.5% of the countryside, despite being the richest and most intricate ecosystem, providing shelter to the most threatened species. It is vital to protect such ecosystems, because you can’t consider centenary trees and young saplings to be the same. They are both trees, but ancient oaks, for example, have created their own unique ecosystems and become home to species that have taken a long time to accumulate and thrive. If these oaks are gone, there is absolutely no guarantee such species will come back and live on younger trees. You can recognise ancient forests by looking at specific species known as “indicator species”. In the UK, these include wildflowers such as bluebells, wood anemones, and lily-of-the-valley. They also include slugs like the lemon slug. Kelly Briggs, The Language of the Spheres, A3 ink on paper
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I, Science
