Harvestmen: Rachael Champion and Jonathan Trayte

Combining sculpture, planting and ecological design, the work transforms an overlooked urban habitat into a vibrant space for wildlife and people. 

The artwork emerges from the artists' six-month Transitional Waters residency at Silverthorne Lane, commissioned by Ginkgo Projects on behalf of Studio HIVE. Through creative workshops, ecological surveys, public events and collaborations with scientists and local communities, the artists explored the hidden natural worlds thriving alongside the Feeder Canal. An encounter with a Harvestman Spider during a community Bioblitz inspired the artwork's title and distinctive sculptural forms. 

Drawing on the long, slender legs of these remarkable creatures, Harvestmen features towering, brightly striped structures rising from a colourful arrangement of circular trays, recycled aggregates and shallow pools of water. These elements create a rich mosaic of microhabitats for plants, birds and invertebrates, complemented by native wildflower planting. The work's materials and colours reference the site's industrial past, former steelworks and the shifting waters of the nearby canal. 

Harvestmen invites people to look more closely at the nature that flourishes in unexpected places. It brings together art, ecology and urban regeneration to create a living artwork that will evolve with the seasons, supporting biodiversity while encouraging new ways of seeing and caring for our shared environment. 

The commission builds on Ginkgo Projects' wider public art strategy for Silverthorne Lane, which places ecology, access to nature and the relationship between land and water at the heart of the site's transformation.

Follow progress on Instagram @rachaelchampionart and @ginkgoprojects. 

About the artists

Rachael Champion 

Rachael Champion is a visual artist whose site-specific sculptures and installations explore the relationships between ecology, industry and the built environment. Combining industrial materials with living plants and natural elements, her work examines how human activity shapes landscapes and ecosystems. Her work has been exhibited at the Whitechapel Gallery, Modern Art Oxford and Camden Art Centre, among others. 

rachaelchampion.com 

Jonathan Trayte 

Jonathan Trayte is a British artist whose colourful, often surreal sculptures and installations explore our relationship with the natural world, consumption and material culture. Working across sculpture, design and public art, he combines organic forms, industrial materials and playful use of colour to create visually striking, sometimes functional works. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Design Museum in London and Friedman Benda in New York. 

jonathantrayte.com