I was incredibly honoured to have been asked by artist Elaine Robinson to submit my fingerprint to her growing art installation project, ‘SPOTtimespotTime.’ The fingerprints will represent relationships to each other and all life on earth.
Once finished, the piece – which will consist of 20 panels of fingerprints and small satellite circles of prints to make a giant fingerprint – will hang in resin and be shown in a national exhibition. Quotes will also accompany the piece. Joanna Lumley, Dame Judi Dench, Caroline Lucas and Chris Packham have already added their print, among many others.
“When the general public, policymakers, activists, conservationists, NGOs, MPs, MEPs campaigners, and celebrities sit equally beside everyone on one large artwork, I feel increasingly hopeful for equality and respect for all life and cultures globally.” – Elaine Robinson
MY QUOTE
“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” – Ryunosuke Akutagawa
“I am a great believer in working together and using creativity to inspire action; just like our individual fingerprints, each person offers unique qualities. Our collective voice can create positive change for animals. We must learn to SEE and to LISTEN, for they are not voiceless; they are unheard.” – Jo Phillips
“I believe we are all instinctively connected. What started out as an artwork about human identity has evolved into a large artwork recording a shift in acceptance that we all play a part in conservation & biodiversity and it is a fundamental part of our identity. SPOTtimespotTIME is a social document which includes all social levels, ages and cultures – why wouldn’t we be optimistic about conservation?!
The idea to create a giant fingerprint came to me when I visited the Rubens exhibition at the Royal Academy in February 2015. Walking around this spectacular exhibition, there was a moment when I spotted a fingerprint. Time, opinion and fingerprints are often what can separate us; however, paradoxically, it is what unites us all when it matters. As an artist, I believe that conservation is the metaphorical heartbeat of all life.
When many people were readily adding their biometric fingerprints to new exciting technological devices, I wanted to encourage a conversation about our connection to all world life, ecosystems and conservation. SPOTtimespotTIME collates a reflective, optimistic conversation about conservation, symbolising one organism.
The finished installation will comprise hundreds of colourful circles filled with fingerprints, levelling and equal. I have been able to keep gathering fingerprints during the pandemic from many notable conservationists and campaigners and well-known NGOs. All the fingerprints will be encased in resin, preserved in time; the colours used indicative of the spectrum, reflecting the importance of light to life… We are all responsible for conservation. Together we can effect change – every fingerprint around the world matters. The artwork encapsulates the optimistic movement everyone is making to change our relationship with the planet.
SPOTtimespotTIME is inclusive and for people from all walks of life. It’s also about embracing our interconnections; we are always stronger working together.” – Elaine Robinson
