'Lest It Should Fade' project was part of 'Bees and other species' INK Collective exhibition at Wales International Photography Festival Diffusion 2021.
Anna has been working as part of Ink collective since spring 2021.
About Ink Collective:
Ink is a collective of six emerging photographers based throughout the UK. Members Anna Sellen, Anne-Marie Briscombe, Ismail Khokon, Kate Oakes, Lucy Saggers and Nat Wilkins are united by their shared interests and drive to collaborate to produce stronger, richer and more meaningful work.
https://www.inkcollective.org.uk/
Bees (and other species): Project Statement
‘Tipping points’ are critical moments in an ecological or social system. Beyond these points, significant and often unstoppable changes can take place. Although gradual changes can be difficult to see, indicator species like Bees (and other species) act as environmental barometers, revealing changes in the health of the natural world. Bees (and other species) are also vital as pollinators, maintaining Earth’s ecosystems, biodiversity and the agriculture that sustains humanity. Yet bee numbers are dramatically falling: worldwide a third of wild bee species are in decline, and in Britain 97% of wildflower meadows have gone.
Ink photographers each explore a different aspect of humanity’s connections to and reliance on Bees (and other species). The group’s work covers Bees (and other species) and their capacity to reconnect us with nature and with each other; to contribute to our health and wellbeing; as an allegorical tool reflecting human society; to indicate the health of meadow habitats; to highlight biological data recorders and to explore our dependence on pollinators for one in three mouthfuls of food. Through this group photographic project, Ink examines issues including the value of nature in urban settings, habitat loss, our dependence on bees for food production and the importance of the work of conservationists.
Presented through photographic series, moving image and sound, Ink questions the potential ‘tipping point’ humanity has reached within the fragile natural world, considers lessons we can learn from our current state of uncertainty and contemplates the opportunities for action now.