Sculpture, photography, architecture and ecology are some of the disciplines that intersect in the work of Ackroyd & Harvey.
Nature and structure, control and randomness are juxtaposed in their work to reveal a time-based practice with intrinsic bias towards process and event. They are acclaimed for their work with the light sensitivity of seedling grass and its ability to record complex photographic images, and have exhibited in galleries, museums and sites worldwide, articulating the seductions of time and visibility inherent in the transient organic image.
In 2007 they realised FlyTower on the exterior of London’s National Theatre, whereby they grew the entire north and west face of the landmark Lyttelton flytower with seedling grass. In 2003 they grew the entire interior wall space of a deconsecrated and disused concrete church in south London (Dilston Grove). Twist, a permanent landmark sculpture opened in December 2008. Visible on entry into Bristol from the M32, the 20-metre high tower is clad in an intensive layering of thin dark grey slates – a waste material from the roofing industry – and is lit using power generated from a combination of solar energy and wind power. Over the last few years they have made a series of expeditions to the High Arctic with Cape Farewell, looking at the effects of global warming on the ecosystem.
Ackroyd and Harvey have been recipients of numerous awards including two RSA Art For Architecture awards, Wellcome Sci-Art, NESTA Pioneering Award and the L’Oreal Art & Science of Colour Grand Prize. Selected solo/group exhibitions include Mostra SESC Des Artes, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2008); Bios 4, Andalusian Centre for Contemporary Art (2008); Japan’s Miraikan Museum (2008); FlyTower, National Theatre London (2007), Big Chill UK(2007), Liverpool Art Biennale (2006), Natural History Museum, London (2006), World Expo, Aichi, Japan (2005), Sculpture Quadrennial, Riga (2004), Musee de’ L’Elysee, Lausanne (2004), Dilston Grove, London (2003), Chicago Public Art Program (2003), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (2001), Beaconsfield, London (2000), V&A Museum, London (2000).
| Date | Title | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9–24 November 2012 | Public Art Installation | Tulca Festival of Visual Arts | Galway |
| 1–30 November 2012 | Mother & Child | Tsinghua University | Beijing |
| 11–19 May 2012 | What On Earth: Out of the Blue | Reel Earth | Palmerston |
| 16 March 2012 | What On Earth: Out of the Blue | Coin Street | London |
| 8 January 2012 | What on Earth: Out of the Blue | ICA | London |
| 20 October 2010 | Testament | Vulnerabili | Milan |
| 1–17 October 2010 | Artists in Residence, Dorking | Surrey | |
| 15 September – 11 October 2010 | Shroud | Museo d’Arte | Napoli |
| 20 August 2010 | On The Field | ||
| 8–29 January 2010 | Free Friday Lates | Royal Academy Of Arts | |
| 1–31 January 2010 | Art of a Changing World | The Royal Academy Of Arts | London |
| 20 November 2009 | Conversations Around Choreography | Siobhan Davies Studios | |
| 4 October – 29 November 2009 | The Walking Forest | The Arnolfini | Bristol |
| 24 September 2009 | Opening of Chalkwell Hall | Chalkwell Hall | Southend-On-Sea |
| 12 September 2009 | Art, Nature and the Environment | Redgrave Suite, The Barbican Centre | London |
| 27 May 2009 | Nobel laureate Symposium on Climate Change | ||
| 13–16 May 2009 | Beuys' Acorns | Centre for Urban Built Environment, Manchester | |
| 7 November 2007 | Panel discussion | SOAS | London |
| 1 July 2007 | Guardian Debate: Do Art and Politics Mix? | Manchester Town Hall | Manchester |
| 20 June 2007 | Pecha Kucha | Institute of Contemporary Arts | London |
| 21 May 2007 | Ackroyd & Harvey on FlyTower, chaired by Louisa Buck | Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre | London |
| 10 May – 17 June 2007 | FlyTower | National Theatre Lyttleton flytower | London |
| 3 May – 2 September 2007 | Mother & Child | Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo | Spain |
| 1 March – 22 April 2007 | Stranded | Kampnagel Cultural Centre | Hamburg |
| 16 September – 26 November 2006 | Whale, as part of The Ship: The Art of Climate Change | Liverpool Biennial | Liverpool |
| 3 June – 3 September 2006 | Whale, as part of The Ship: The Art of Climate Change | Natural History Museum | London |
| 25 March – 25 September 2005 | World Expo 2005, | Aichi |
