Written by Amanda Gray with contributions from Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and Oxford North
Having worked with the artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg previously, it was a great opportunity to discuss and hear from the artist about her first foray into working in bronze. Ginsberg's work spans media from sound installation, stained glass, living artworks to tapestry, prints and the digital exploring the natural world, environment and our engagement with that world. Her artwork often addresses those difficult conversations regarding our role in the manipulation and extinction of other species whether animal or plant. Her artwork has been internationally exhibited and includes The Substitute, which was exhibited at the Natural History Museum and is now on show at Cooper Hewitt, NY; Every Thing Eats Light, Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana; and her globally shown Pollinator Pathmaker interspecies artworks. In this new work, Ginsberg continues to explore these themes, but here magnifies our focus on the internal world of the moth – the frequently overlooked, unseen and less celebrated pollinator.
Ginsberg's work, The Length of a Moment, a new public sculpture commissioned by Thomas White Oxford, the development company of St John’s College, will be found in Canalside Park, Oxford North, the city's new innovation district, close to the new Mishcon de Reya Oxford offices. Making the ephemeral tangible, three bronze sculptures depicting the flight of a moth, native to the surrounding area will emerge out of the meadow. Capturing an imagined moment in bronze, the organic forms simulate the moths' movement as each one tracks floral scent plumes through air turbulence. Challenging the weighty connotations of bronze, each of the sculptures depict the aerodynamics of plume behaviour and olfaction in airy lilac, mint green, and blue. In line with her other work, Ginsberg plays with the dynamics of the flight of moths to create cloud-like forms. Initially digitally rendered, the works are then 3-D printed to be created by the traditional lost wax method at the foundry.
Through our own experience of working with artists and institutions on public artwork commissions, we are aware of the challenges a public commission can present beyond a private commission or sale. In addition to the considerations of production and intellectual property protection, are wider factors of multiple stakeholders who may have different objectives, budgets, safety, engineering and maintenance/aftercare considerations. Each future commission has its own distinct fact patterns that inform the legal advice and points to be mapped out in a contract. As the art law team, we often have to be legally creative to find an effective and commercial solution.
The artworks will inspire people of all ages as part of Oxford North's Engage programme, which is the district’s community-based arts, culture, social value and legacy programme - Ginsberg's artwork is well placed to do this, given its intersection between nature, science and art. Oxford North is a hub for scientific and creative thinking, and both her work and that of Olafur Eliasson's “Your planetary assembly” in Fallaize Park, the district’s central park, reflect the creative and innovative thinking that will be taking place as Oxford North comes to life.
Render of The Length of a Moment to be installed at Canalside Park, Oxford North (summer 2026). Courtesy the artist. © Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg Ltd.
Other artworks by Ginsberg can currently be seen at:
IN BLOOM. How Plants Changed Our World
Ashmolean Museum
Oxford, UK
March 19, 2026 – August 16, 2026
AI and The Paradox of Agency
Bildmuseet
Umeå, Sweden
March 13, 2026 – January 17, 2027