“Railing for Christchurch Primary School in Bristol. "Darwin's Fence" is a visual timeline of evolution, local history, and Brunel's legacy.”
Created in 2015 for Christchurch Primary School in Bristol, this bespoke railing is a complex montage illustrating the deep geological, evolutionary, and human history of the local area. The physical rock the school stands upon—limestone laid down in a warm tropical sea 220 million years ago—serves as the starting point for a visual timeline of life on Earth.
Crafted from stainless steel, the panel is framed by the sweeping outline of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge. Within this web, 19 distinct elements trace the story of evolution. From the ancient Lungfish (the 400-million-year-old ancestor of all vertebrates) to the Thecodontus (the "Bristol dinosaur" discovered just a mile from the school), the artwork visually guides students through the emergence of amphibians, mammals, and eventually human ingenuity.
The piece also weaves in beautiful metaphors for education and existence. A Little Owl watches over the timeline, representing the wisdom of the teachers. In the branches above, Brunel’s famous stovepipe hat holds a wren’s nest—a symbol of the nurturing care the school provides. At the center of it all sits a spider, representing the universal force of gravity, while trapped flies map out the constellation of Ursa Major, reminding us of our tiny, yet remarkable, place in the cosmos.
Key Narrative Elements
Deep Time: Features the skeleton of Thecodontus alongside primitive survivors like the silverfish and a prehistoric giant dragonfly from an era of oxygen-rich atmospheres.
The Web of Life: Tracks the evolutionary leap from sea to land with a toad and a slug, and the vital relationship between the first flowering plants (Magnolia) and early pollinators (beetles).
Human Ingenuity: The timeline progresses from a 1.5-million-year-old Acheulean hand axe hidden in the web, culminating in the engineering triumph of Brunel’s bridge.
The Ecosystem: Framed by oak leaves—which sustain over 1,000 species—and grounded by fungi, the unsung recyclers of our planet.
