Presented as part of the Palm Temple, London.

The Extinction Bell tolls once, 150-200 times a day, at random intervals, indicating the number of species lost worldwide every 24 hours*.

The Extinction Bell artwork is a touring artwork and will be presented in a number of different venues and contexts, including museums of natural history, botanic gardens and zoos. The artwork is used to raise awareness of the issue of biodiversity loss, and alter the way audiences view existing collections and exhibits within these institutions.

This simple artwork aims to make audible events which are invisible to us, and which are occurring simultaneously across the world in multiple habitats.

*Estimate according to a 2007 UN Environmental Programme.

Background

Scientists estimate that the current extinction rate of plant, insect, bird and mammal species is nearly 1,000 times the ‘natural’ or ‘background’ rate and, say many biologists, is greater than anything the world has experienced since the vanishing of the dinosaurs nearly 65 million years ago.

Unlike past mass extinctions, caused by events like asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and natural climate shifts, the current crisis is almost entirely caused by us — humans. In fact, 99 per cent of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, primarily those driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, and global warming. Because the rate of change in our biosphere is increasing, and because every species’ extinction potentially leads to the extinction of others bound to that species in a complex ecological web, numbers of extinctions are likely to snowball in the coming decades, as ecosystems unravel.

Read this latest UN report from 2019.

Questioning the stats

As questioned by the BBC, it is hard to verify this number of extinctions, as firstly we don’t actually know the number of species there are on the planet to begin with. Based on recent data the estimated number of animal species in the world is 2.16 million, from the total species population of 8.7 million. See stats on World Animal Foundation website.

Here is another story from Yale about why the estimates vary.

Sixth Mass Extinction

A “biological annihilation” of wildlife in recent decades means a sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history is underway and is more severe than previously feared, according to research.

Scientists analysed both common and rare species and found billions of regional or local populations have been lost. They blame human overpopulation and over consumption for the crisis, and warn that it threatens the survival of human civilisation, with just a short window of time in which to act.

Read about in The Guardian.

Why a bell?

All around the world, bells are used as a universal call to action and communicate a sense of emergency. Bells are also commonly used in religion, bringing communities together for services. When a bell tolls it rings slowly and repeatedly, often as a sign that someone has died. With all these cultural references it made sense to use a bell in the artwork as a way of marking the numbers of species we are losing each day.

Exhibitions
Roger Williams Park Zoo, 20 – 22 May 2022.
WaterFire Arts Center, 19 March – 1 May 2022.
National Museum of Scotland 2021.
Kings Cross, London as part of the Luke’s Palm Temple pavilion 2020.
Bristol Zoo Gardens 2019
University of Bristol as part of the Luke’s Palm Temple pavilion 2021.

Please contact us if you’re interested in commissioning an extinction bell for your institution.

Press Coverage
Listen to an interview with Luke about this artwork on BBC Radio 4 Front Row.
BBC Points West – 22nd Nov 2019
ITV News – 22nd Nov 2019
Bristol 24/7