This 12ft painting of a honey bee in Bristol city centre is the work of Londion based street artist ATM. An initiative brought to the city by Good Shout Studio’s ‘Human Nature’, the new painting hopes to raise awareness of the rapid decline of bees in the UK.
ATM is best known for painting murals of endangered birds on city walls. Having joined the Human Nature art show last year, he has been praised for his creative approach to ecology. His owl, snipe, goldfinch, turtle dove and other distinctive bright paintings have attracted much attention and can be found across housing estates, schools and other buildings in the capital.
ATM’s Honey Bee is a poignant reminder that bees need our attention. It marks the beginning of the Urban Pollinators Summit organised by Friends of the Earth and BeeBristol as part of the Get Bristol Buzzing campaign.
The UK has lost 97% of native wildflower, and two species of bumblebee have become extinct over the last 70 years. This new work aims to encourage the people of Bristol to find out more, get involved and help reinstate a healthy population of pollinators to the city.
The Human Nature art show sprung up in London last year to bring a new perspective to our relationship with nature. The launch night saw hundreds of visitors enjoy sculpture, photography, painting and street art exploring the importance of our interaction with the natural world. A unique event, with three further shows planned for 2015 in Leeds, Bristol and returning to London, the show is now spreading to the streets to benefit artists and city dwellers alike.
Its positive influence is set to continue, with Bristol’s bee part of a unique new street art programme from Human Nature called ‘Our Enchanted Garden’, looking to roll out paintings of wildlife across the city throughout the year. Marking the city’s status as European Green Capital City, we’re launching a crowdfunding campaign in the next month to enable people to make this a reality.
In addition to Human Nature’s primary sponsor, Abundance, the ethical investment company, ‘The Honey Bee’ has been kindly supported by a number of Bristol based organisations including Triodos Bank, At-Bristol Science Centre, Bristol Friends of the Earth, Get Bristol Buzzing and Bristol Fine Art. They are joined by Liquitex paints.
Human Nature will be coming to The Gallery at Munro House in Leeds from 22nd April to 2nd May and Bristol’s Centrespace Gallery from 16th to 30th July. Our London show will be in October with the venue still to be announced.
For more information on what can be done to save the Honey Bee go to www.beebristol.org or The Friends of the Earth Bee Cause site www.foe.co.uk/bees . For the latest on ATM, ‘Our Enchanted Garden’ and Human Nature go to www.humannatureshow.com