From actresses imprisoned in vitrines and sharks suspended in formaldehyde to plaster houses that deteriorate with the rain and artificial shorelines made of pebbles and plastic -- contemporary British artists seem, after 10 years, to be taking art out of the glass case and into the environment -- wholesale.
Dan Harvey, 45, and Heather Ackroyd, 46, are among six British artists currently being exhibited in the British Pavilion at the Aichi Expo displaying work created in response to the Expo's theme of "Nature's Wisdom" that addresses the loss of biodiversity, land and soil erosion, throwaway plastics, deforestation and fresh water depletion. Cornelia Parker (she of "The Maybe" -- the actress in the vitrine) has made "Moon Landing," with cast metal, print and wood; Anya Gallaccio, who creates site-specific installations using organic materials, has taken a felled dead oak tree and planted it so that it plays host to other forms of growth; Catherine Yass has created a sound piece about the demise of songbird species; Richard Deacon's "Borderline" reveals how plastic has been broken down by tides and is now an integral part of sand.
Harvey and Ackroyd have made a small white gypsum plaster house called "The White House," a 1 meter high block of white plaster. Suspended over it is a bleeder hosepipe with an aluminum wire that drips water ("like a cloud," says Harvey), so that the plaster block is eroded and starts to play host to colorful molds and bacteria.