Cornford and Cross
The Lion and the Unicorn 2008

Maximum safe load of coal on gallery floor, emergency lighting
Curated by Kate Pryor
Wolverhampton Art Gallery


It is generally accepted that the Industrial Revolution originated in the West Midlands. This revolution was at first powered by renewable energy. But it was coal that provided the phenomenal power that allowed people to overcome many physical limitations of the body and the environment. The result has been the most radical transformation of our economy, society and culture since history began.

The physical form of this installation, The Lion and the Unicorn, was an expression of limitations: the maximum safe load on the gallery floor is 14000kg, and the minimum legal width for a safety access way is 1500mm. By extension, the work pointed to a limitation so large that it seems beyond our frame of vision: the limit to industrial growth. This is determined by the earth’s ‘ecological carrying capacity’, the ability of all living systems to absorb the waste products of human activity. The earth’s climate system is being destroyed by burning fossil fuels, including the coal used to generate the electricity that powers the gallery lights.

We switched off the lights.

The title of this installation references an essay, ‘The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius’, written by George Orwell during the Second World War. In it, Orwell tested the limits of social obligation in terms of the bonds between people of different classes, and the continuity of collective identity between generations.


Daw Mill coal mine, near Coventry in the West Midlands. Daw Mill is Britain's biggest coal producer, producing 2.2 million tonnes of coal in 2007.

Sacks of coal for delivery to the gallery

Coal on the gallery floor

Electrical power distribution system at Wolverhampton Art Gallery

The Lion and the Unicorn, 2008: installation view

The Lion and the Unicorn, 2008: installation view

The Lion and the Unicorn, 2008: installation view