The impressive Cyprus Papyrus seems almost to defy gravity, its slender stems bowing upwards into explosions of wispy reeds that belie the strength of their bronze form. At over two metres tall, this unique work evokes the majestic growth of this humble plant which has a relationship with humans that goes back millennia.

Also known simply as papyrus, the plant embodied in this sculpture was used, cultivated, and exploited almost to extinction by the Ancient Egyptians. Its reeds were most famously used for making papyrus paper, and here the strength of these thin, seemingly delicate leaves is conveyed through the durability of the bronze in which they are rendered.

The Ancient Egyptians, with their respect of the sacredness of animals and their environment, have provided inspiration for Harumi across her artistic practice. This sculpture is a monument to the intertwined relationship of humans and the natural world; it also acts as a reminder of our fragile co-existence, of the cycles of creation and destruction that are created by mankind's intervention in nature.