‘Rooting: Ecology, Extraction & Environmental Emergencies in the University’s Art Collection’ explores our climate crisis progress. The exhibition brings together historic and contemporary artworks by 30 different artists looking at the theme of the environment and ecology from many different perspectives.
The works come from the University’s 350-year art collection, and the exhibition invites viewers to consider entangled stories of art, nature, extractive histories and the climate crisis.
Liv Laumenech, Assistant Curator for the University Art Collections, used various interpretations of the word ‘rooting’ while planning the exhibition.
“As roots grow, they begin to gnarl and knot together, consequently illustrating the idea that the exhibition does not exist in isolation,” she says.
Rooting for a sustainable future
Liv adds: “In some ways, this show invites visitors to connect with the art. It’s not linear; instead, it encourages finding links across different art forms, time periods, and ideas. The viewer may find themselves ‘rooting around’ and finding their own connections.
“Additionally, Rooting evokes the idea of supporting someone. Action and activism matter for the prevention of the climate crisis. We need to take steps, change our habits and think in new ways.”
All photographs by Ian Georgeson
The power of art for climate crisis progress
The exhibition includes works by a range of world-renowned artists, including Ian Hamilton Finlay, Joan Eardley, Hew Locke, and Alberta Whittle. It also includes pieces by artists who are graduates of Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), including Katie Paterson, Daisy Lafarge, and Ruth Ewan.
The University’s Heritage Collections worked with the Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability (SRS) on parts of the exhibition. Examples of research, teaching and environmental projects at the University that are successfully investigating and tackling the climate crisis are presented alongside the artworks to showcase the positive contribution staff and students are making in overcoming various environmental emergencies.
Sarah Ford-Hutchinson, Head of SRS Communications, says: “Art can make us think, feel and react in a way that other forms of communication don’t. I enjoyed having the opportunity to present stories that tap into that power at this University.”
Rooting in resistance
The exhibition reveals how artists interact with the environment and the climate crisis. Paintings like ‘Crannoch’ show how art serves as a historic record. Works such as ‘Where Do We Begin and End?’ and ‘Caddisfly larvae’ explore materials in creative ways.
Additionally, the exhibition features audio, moving image and interactive elements. Thomas Abercromby’s video, ‘Rocabarraigh’, draws inspiration from Greenpeace activists. In 1997, they occupied the Atlantic islet of Rockall as part of a campaign to shield the nearby seas from new oil drilling contracts.
SRS have connected some artworks with themes of ecology and sustainability to research, teaching and operational programmes at the University.
Liv says: “The main concept is that there’s a mix of art forms, time periods, and ideas in the exhibition, but a significant strand is the presentation of recent acquisitions. The University has, throughout its history, consistently collected and commissioned the art of the day, and we continue the important work of supporting living artists through commissioning projects with artists and external gallery partners, as well as with the ECA graduate show purchase prize. The inclusion of these works allows us to demonstrate our support and advocacy for contemporary collecting.”
Entangled pasts and the climate crisis
The Art Collection features two key collections: the University of Edinburgh and ECA. They form part of the University’s cultural heritage and help unlock institutional histories.
Students have always helped shape the future. For instance, in 1809, a group from the University of Edinburgh started the Caledonian Horticulture Society. It still exists today.
‘The Greenhouse Project’ and ‘The Repairable Flatpack Toaster’ – both examples of
works by graduates developed during their studies – demonstrate how sustainability-focused art
can impact society.
Western scientific research observes, extracts samples, and studies the world. This has deepened our understanding of ecosystems. However, it has also harmed them and formed part of the justification for systems that believed that nature and people could be controlled and exploited.
The historical links between money, extraction and power can be seen in ‘The Beast’ and ‘Société de Navigation Transocéanique 1’.
Valentina Lobos Muñoz’s ‘Speculative Flag’ features digital printing on silk with emblems from more than 60 countries. It offers an alternative perspective to how land, nature, and people have often been considered as resources or commodities.
‘The Irish Polled Cow’, once featured in the University’s Agricultural Museum (which is no longer in existence), shows how animals can become mere specimens for study.
Making climate change progress
The Heritage Collections team hopes visitors will leave the exhibition feeling hopeful about the future of the planet.
Details of the University’s Forest and Peatlands project, which was started in 2021 to restore several thousand hectares of native woodland and peatland habitats, are listed next to Katie Paterson’s ‘Future Library’. This artwork shows how art can inspire hope through action. Paterson has planted a forest near Oslo, Norway. She aims for the trees to supply paper for a collection of books to be printed in 2114. Each year for 100 years, one author contributes a text for the collection, starting with Margaret Atwood in 2014.
A call for climate action
Free packets of wildflower seeds are available to visitors so they have something tangible to take home with them.
Sarah says, “When you sow seeds and see them grow into native plants, you help local insects. Visitors can see how small actions make a big difference. And that’s what it’s all about: learn, feel and act, both individually and together.”
The exhibition is also used in teaching, with a range of classes studying the work as part of their seminars.
Liv says: “As well as being a celebration of art and artists, the exhibition has two key messages for viewers. First is the critical role of artists and art in society in helping us understand the world and our future. Secondly, we want people to come away with hope for the challenges that we are facing and feel inspired to act.”
Rooting runs until Saturday, 15 November, at the University’s Main Library in George Square and is free to visit.
