In 2010, Alec Finlay was invited to visit the University of Warwick to meet staff and students and to develop an idea for a project. His interest was captured by the Navstar satellite system studied in the field of Engineering. The image of the fat Navstar satellite with its 'wings' evoked the idea of bees as an ancient communication system. The Omphalos stone in the oracle at Delphi is patterned with a crosswork of bees, which the ancient Greeks associated with the soul.

For 'Global Oracle', Navstar satellites have been re-constructed as nests for solitary bees by Spencer Jenkins, based in Nuneaton, who makes works using traditional thatching techniques. 'Global Oracle' explores the relationship between bee behaviour and navigation; prophecy in ancient Greece and our contemporary oracles of the smart phone and satellite navigation.