Best known for touring his large scale sculptures of the Moon, the Sun and Earth, Luke Jerram is scaling up a microscopic grain of pollen into a 6 metre immersive dome. Behind a curtained doorway, more than 100 lenses, each one a camera obscura, will reveal an upside-down mosaic of the local landscape, showing how bees see the world. The premiere of Pollenarium is free to visit, for one day only at Barking Riverside’s Emerge East festival on Saturday 12 September 2026.
Pollenarium has been created by UK artist Luke Jerram and US based Pneuhaus. It is commissioned by Creative Barking and Dagenham in partnership with Barking Riverside Limited, with co-commissioning support from the Royal Horticultural Society and the University of Bristol.
Luke Jerram, artist, said: “It’s rare to find arts organisations like Creative Barking and Dagenham willing to commission something brand new. It’s a real privilege that we’ve been able to step into the unknown of it together, and I’ve really enjoyed that creative journey.”
Artist Luke Jerram has spent thirty years building artworks that explore scale and how we see and understand the planet and environment. Jerram’s interest in light and his curiosity for understanding the processes of visual perception that reveal hidden phenomena that can’t ordinarily be seen was activated when he discovered he was partially colourblind.
Working with US design studio Pneuhaus for the first time, this new commission allowed Luke Jerram to create a new type of immersive large-scale structure, reimagining a microscopic grain of pollen into the size of a small building. His methodology of exploring the wonder of astronomy through his artworks is now deployed in Pollenarium, inviting people to explore the mysterious world of insects and the hidden world of pollination within local natural landscapes.
Through the curtained doorway of the geodesic dome, visitors will enter a six metre diameter space with its surface covered with inflated facets that house more than a hundred glass lenses. Each lens acts as a camera obscura, focusing the view of the surrounding landscape onto the dome’s inner surface, creating an upside-down mosaic of the world outside. This effect mimics the way many insects perceive the world through the multiple lenses of their compound eyes. At night, the camera obscuras draw in the night’s sky and artificial light from the surrounding architecture.
Barking Riverside has become a thriving sanctuary for wildlife and an important refuge in London for pollinators. The site supports 10 species of solitary and bumble bees, including the nationally rare Shrill Carder bee, one of the UK’s rarest bumblebees, and the Pantaloon bee, a nationally scarce species. Plus more than 40 other species of invertebrates, including wasps, beetles, flies, moths, and butterflies, all of which support pollination.
Luke Jerram, artist, said: “I’ve created Pollenarium to be a bit like going inside a bee’s head and looking out through an array of 100 camera obscuras simultaneously. It should be an extraordinary experience, and give people a new perspective on Barking Riverside, its special ecology and the world around them. It’s really exciting to have a new artwork premiere in this emerging area of London after sharing my other artworks Gaia and Lullaby in 2021.”
There is a serious message behind this work. UK flying insect abundance has fallen by nearly 60% in the last 20 years, a decline that threatens the pollination of up to a third of the food we eat.*
Luke Jerram said: “I would like Pollenarium to inspire people to think about the insects they rarely notice. I have been preoccupied with the hidden and overlooked for a long time in my work. We need bees and insects to pollinate our food and feed our birds. In parts of China, they are already hand-pollinating fruit trees with little brushes; we really don’t want to be in that position. It would be a complete disaster.”
Sarah Wickens, Director, Creative Barking and Dagenham, said: “We are delighted to welcome back Luke Jerram to the borough. This time we asked him to create a brand new artwork experience specially for Barking Riverside. We want this playful and thoughtful artwork to inspire local people, particularly children and young people, to develop their own creative responses to local nature and environmental issues. It is a truly unique opportunity to see a major new Luke Jerram artwork shown for the first time.”
During the premiere of Pollenarium, arts and creative activities for residents and local communities will also highlight the importance of biodiversity, enhancing habitats and promoting ways that people can act to look after their natural environments. A daytime ‘Pollinators Parade’ features artworks created by over 1000 local children, young people and their families. A legacy of the artwork in the borough will see local artists commissioned to work with young people on their own environmentally themed art installations.
Set across 443 acres on the banks of the Thames, Barking Riverside is East London’s largest and most significant new neighbourhood. Barking and Dagenham has the youngest population in England and Wales, with children making up around a quarter of residents, the highest proportion of any local authority. It’s the third-fastest-growing population in the country. Barking Riverside’s distinctive natural environment and often hidden wildlife and insects form part of the inspiration for Pollenarium.
This new artwork is part of the Emerge East festival programme now in its fifth year. This year’s programme features a headline set from DJ AG, alongside a diverse line-up of artists and performers, street food, creative workshops, interactive experiences and activities for all ages.
