BIO

We need new ways of thinking. Collaboration. A cross-pollination of disciplines and ideas. Art steeped in the real-world and in the natural systems that drive and sustain life on Earth.

Jonathan Luckhurst works to achieve this aim. For the last several years, he has been working towards the development of large-scale public artworks that connect to a myriad of environmental issues such as habitat restoration, food security, the carbon cycle and the loss of seed diversity. His approach is one that merges elements of art, design, science and sustainability as a means to reflect his interest in the future of our lived-in spaces and the natural environment. Luckhurst’s work is cross-disciplinary. It is art built upon the foundation of real science.

Luckhurst is not just an artist. He is also an entrepreneur. With a degree in cell biology and genetics and as the founder of Sea to Sky Botanics, he works to create educational food systems for schools, consults for First Nations on year-round, indoor food production and creates green design installations that inspire a greater connection to natural systems. As Luckhurst says, “As artists, we need to take an active role in exploring pragmatic solutions to the problems that we think about in our art-making.”

Luckhurst’s methodology stems from his belief that in order to find solutions to the ecological crisis, it’s necessary to collaborate with leaders from other facets of society — scientists, researchers, activists and entrepreneurs. Through this multi-facetted and collaborative approach, the best ideas and communication of ideas will result. By presenting audiences with artworks that incorporate real-world solutions to issues such as the ecological crisis, a deeper level of discussion and engagement with the work is expected. This has the effect of reaching a more expansive audience, wherein viewers may be inspired by different elements of the work, which ultimately leads to a broader inspiration within the audience to act on the ideas being presented.

Photograph: Jessica Fern Facette