Jane Simpson was born in London in 1965. She graduated from Chelsea School of Art in 1988 and completed three years of postgraduate study at the Royal Academy Schools, London, in 1993. In 1999 she was awarded the IASPIS Goteborg Fellow, Sweden, and in 2001 she was the Artist in Residence for the Shoreditch Town Hall Trust. She is well- known for her found object ‘still live’ sculptures and her work with ice, using refrigeration units to control freezing and melting, exploring the material as a metaphor for dissolution and temporality.

“Pandas were once believed to be magical creatures which possessed powers that could ward off natural disasters and evil spirits. They were seen as semi- divine in China; texts extolling their special nature go back 3,000 years. Idolised and revered, they were kept as very special pets in China, but remained unknown to the Western world until 1869….I designed a refrigeration mechanism and installed it inside the panda. The coat slowly covers with a layer of ice, almost immediately making the panda a forgotten relic. The affectionate, familiar features slowly soften – most poignantly the familiar piercing eyes, which are muffled and covered... no longer gazing out at us.” - Jane Simpson