Not many people had heard of Sipson until it was threatened with demolition. The small village sits in the London borough of Hillingdon on land destined for Heathrow's third runway (for which the Government gave the go-ahead in January this year).
The construction of the new runway will wipe out the entire village of Sipson and its 700 homes.
Artist Hester Berry has made this community living on borrowed time the focus of her first solo exhibition in London at Gallery 118 in Notting Hill (21st - 30th October).
All Berry's work focuses on environmental themes - extreme weather conditions, pollution and eco-friendly initiatives, but the main theme of 'It's All Up In The Air' is the plight of Sipson.
Click on the image above right to view a gallery of Berry's work
Her paintings depict views of Heathrow airport, snapshots of day-to-day-life in the village, scenes of the surrounding landscape and a projection of how the same area would appear if the planned airport expansion goes ahead.
‘I found that relatively few people outside Sipson's catchment area are aware of the threatened obliteration of an entire community,' says Berry. ‘I want the wider public to realise what is being bulldozed in order that Heathrow airport may keep its "hub" status.'
As well as her choice of subject matter, Berry tried to ensure that the carbon footprint of the exhibition is as minimal as possible. She used recycled and recyclable paper, for instance.
‘I'm really trying to get the word out, not just about Sipson, but other environmental threats that we face today,' she says, ‘and the importance of being pro-active when it comes to tackling climate change.'
'It's All Up in the Air' by Hester Berry , 21st - 30th October 2009
Gallery 118, 118 Westbourne Grove, London W11
--
Laura Sevier is the Ecologist's Green Living Editor
| READ MORE... | |
 |
NEWS Government ignoring true cost of Heathrow The Government is ignoring its own figures on the true carbon cost of building a third runway, say Liberal Democrats |
 |
COMMENT Accidental heroes? The Government's green light for Heathrow's third runway makes no economic - let alone environmental - sense, says Joss Garman |
 |
INVESTIGATION Can flying ever be green? Soaring fuel prices and stratospheric carbon emissions bode ill for the aviation industry. Is flying beyond redemption? Mark Anslow tries some blue-sky thinking |
