There have been countless breathtaking, innovative feats throughout evolution that deserve celebrating: some have been pivotal to the subsequent route taken towards life as we know it, others less so, but all have had an impact. I have begun to explore some of these novelties that are recorded in the fossil record in many of the works exhibited here.

Much about evolution is not clear. Major geological events occurring over a vast timescale limit available evidence. We know that digressions and chance have stood on the threshold of each potential evolutionary step. The path taken by life has heralded opportunists. This has however, sounded the death knell for other forms on roads not taken. What is clear, is that in revealing our common ancestry and the inexorable relatedness of all life the fossil record also suggests how different it could so easily have been. This exhibition is an initial tribute to aspects of a fragile, rich and awesome history that has shaped life past, life present and its potential future.

Helen Gilbart