Systema Metropolis is a new commission by renowned artist Mark Dion exploring the strange and surprising biodiversity of London. Dion uncovers the variety of life that exists in a modern city by sampling four very different environments within London, each reflecting the current and historical aspects of our vibrant capital.

Soil, water, air samples, and small invertebrates like worms and insects are amongst the materials collected in collaboration with Museum scientists. Dion uses these items as the basis for four installations, giving an insight into how humans make order out of chaos by collecting and classifying.

Credit: copyright to Mark Dion/NHM

The commission celebrates 300 years since the birth of Carl Von Linne, better known as Linnaeus, the father of modern classification. His ideas have influenced generations of biologists and his system for naming and ranking organisms is still used to interpret the natural world.

Registration required:

No

Free:

Yes