Night Garden
2020
Out of the dark, a lily grows
The early months of the Covid-19 lockdown coincided – ironically – with the warmest May ever recorded in Britain. What were – for many – the darkest months of their lives also turned out to be the sunniest.
The sunsets that month were frequent and spectacular. Night after night, the May skies were filled with lilac and purple. My wisteria flowered for the first time.
Project Information
Night Garden was produced over the lockdown period in response to my mother’s death and documented the unexpected appearance and flowering of an unusual and spectacular plant in my suburban garden during the dark days of the 2020 pandemic.
This piece – which included both image and text – was commissioned for Florilegium – a gathering of flowers, which was the inaugural biennial exhibition to mark the re-opening of Inverleith House at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh.
The exhibition also marked Inverleith House’s new status as a ‘Climate House’, a unique space to critically explore our complex relationship with the natural world. Florilegium included new and existing works by contemporary artists Lee Mingwei, Annalee Davis, Wendy McMurdo and Lyndsay Mann joined over 40 established botanical artists such as Mieko Ishikawa, Dianne Sutherland and Sansanee Deekranjang.
Florilegium – a gathering of flowers, Inverleith House, Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh from 16th Oct – 13th Dec 2020.
More info here: https://www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/inverleith-house/introducing-climate-house/florilegium-a-gathering-of-flowers/