Lucy Beech – Scavengers, 2026

Vultures begin their work where life ends. In Scavengers, the artist explores how these often-maligned scavengers sustain the health of ecosystems through decomposition. Preventing the spread of disease and returning nutrients to the earth, vultures perform an essential ecological function while remaining among the world’s most threatened birds. The sound and video installation draws on conservation research including vulture restoration initiatives in the Baronnies Provençales Regional Natural Park, south-east of Lyon. It examines efforts to restore vulture populations while challenging the perceptions that have contributed to their decline. Beech reframes decomposition as a process of care, revealing the hidden forms of labour through which ecosystems continually renew themselves.

Lucy Beech’s practice spans moving image, sound, and installation through a collaborative approach informed by scientific and cinematic methodologies. Beech’s recent projects take shape through close attention to specific contexts, particularly in ecology, biomedicine, and structures of care. Blending documentary, fiction, and the mythical and imaginary Beech’s work draws viewers deep into transformative processes, producing unexpected and often hybrid and psychedelic forms.