Planting Ideas

I’m delighted to have two of my largest artworks on exhibition at @stbarbemuseum Lymington, Hampshire, UK. And also an honour to have my work sitting side-by-side 19th century botanist and photographer Anna Atkins.

The exhibition, curated by Sherry Doyal, takes visitors on a journey through the various stages of creating a Herbarium. It introduces contemporary art inspired by science and botany. The exhibition examines the historical practices used in preserving and presenting plant species and illustrates how these techniques continue to influence artists today.

The exhibit features a wide range of plant-related activities, including collecting, pressing, drying, mounting, arranging, preserving, recording, illustrating, and the study of economic botany. The collection showcases various artefacts on loan and from St Barbe’s own collection. Contemporary artworks, such as Catherine Beaumont’s basket, Angela Chalmers’ cyanotypes, Edward Chell’s road dust prints, Amanda Cobbett’s embroidery, Lynn Comley’s felt and embroidered textiles, Caroline Dear’s moss construction, Joe Horner’s photography, Stef Mitchell’s monotypes, Sarah Morrish’s botanical illustrations, Sarah Paramor’s moss bag, and Helen Thomas’s paintings, further enhance these themes.