What Prompted my interested in a collaboration with the
John Innes Centre?
It’s a fusion as old as time, science and art.
Engaging the minds of many to experiment and adapt to the challenges that we
are experiencing both personally and within society. To that end, I’ve always
felt linked to the world of research and investigation, as it is an integral
part of my development process as an Artist. Whether sitting in an arm chair
immersed in a book, or out and about exploring my surrounding, there is always
an element of research present to any project I am involved in. The key to any
good researcher is the ability to create a dialogue between the area of
fixation and yourself, asking questions and keeping yourself open to
possibilities; responding accordingly when answers start to immerge. The art of
experimentation is fundamental within both the scientific and the creative
communities, surely then it should be of no surprise that there is often a form
of cross over; a margin that could allow both worlds to begin to carve a
narrative that spans multiple areas of inquiry. This for me has been the
foundation the collaboration with the John Innes Centre has been built upon. As
I began my research for the group collaboration, I started studying the involvement
the Centre had in society, the main thing I wanted to know was, how they were
serving the community and what were they all about? I was intrigued to uncover
their latest discovery, into the unlocked genetic potential of wheat, a grain
that has been described as the world’s most “abundantly produced crop”. This research
started my imagination wondering about a fragment of the article that I had
read, as I began to mull over the concepts of wheat being this “abundantly
produced crop”. I inevitably found myself thinking about other plants that are
thought of as common place and unexciting, yet could possibly hold the key to a
variety of medicinal remedies. Weeds, found in almost every back garden in
Britain are thought of as the vermin of the plant kingdom, easier accessible
and rarely missed, I decided they would make the perfect subject for my work.
After choosing my area in inquiry, I set about researching the legendary
properties of these plants according to folk law, discovering quickly that
different cultures had acquired specific knowledge from their ancestors
regarding the plants from their homeland.
This information seemed nostalgic to a degree, and lead me to visit an
ancient woodland site named Stour woods in Wrabness Essex, to collect samples
of plants commonly neglected, yet well-known and full of history. After gathering
the specimens, I pressed the plants for three weeks to ensure they were
sufficiently dried out. This was a critical part of the process as I needed to
ensure the plants were in good condition to be arranged in-between the acrylic
panels. The inspiration for my design originated from the concoction of sources,
from stories about botanist collecting specimens of plants from all around the
world, research I had carried out whilst in the conceptual stage of my design
and medical images I had seen online, displaying subjects preserved in glass
jars all combined into the final result which has now been concluded into the
work you see before you
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