Accession Code: wu1082 Title: Pollen Bomb Date completed: 2017 Classification: Sculpture Medium: Corten Steel Height (mm): 2030 Width (mm): 2030 Depth (mm): 2030 Inscription: Signed and Dated Location Name: Outside Location Description: Chaplaincy Garden Location Floor:

Gifted to the University by award winning producer and director and alumnus of the University, Lawrence Till.

1 of an edition of 5.

Pollen Bomb is a geodesic sphere, with spikes and recesses, based on the magnification of a grain of pollen. By replicating this form on a large scale it looks a bit like an old sea mine which similarly drifts through currents, attaching itself to whatever comes its way.

In a statement about the work Joanne Risley explains:

Pollen Bomb was the first of three large forms I have created which are derived from botany and biology, but fabricated using multiple geometric shapes, to create strange otherworldly objects reminiscent of munitions and spacecraft. My intention was to reflect some of the anxiety I feel about the times we live in and the uncertainty about the future. I am reminded of Pandora’s Box; the lid has been opened and chaos unleashed. The unchecked rise and reach of social media means we live in a world where we must constantly question the sources of the information we receive and be alert to how social media can be manipulated to subvert democracy in a post truth age.