The Plants That Made Me.
Series 1. 2025
I work within an urban context, connecting closely to the forms of nature that exist around me, particularly ruderal plants that are often dismissed as weeds and overlooked. This body of work is an expression of deep reverence for these plants. Through sustained time spent with them, I have come to know their life cycles, habitats, and patterns of growth. The process is rooted in mindfulness and attentive observation, fostering a sense of connection and care. In alignment with the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement, my methodology embraces slowness and material integrity. I create pigments directly from these plants and use them to illustrate these plants that I know and love. In doing so, the plants are not only represented but physically embedded within each work. This approach honours their resilience and presence and invites a reconsideration of our relationship with the often-marginalized forms of urban nature.
The Plants That Made Me.
As part of Emerald Green Mineral House Guest Exhibition.
David Parr House. 2025.
All images courtesy of the David Parr House.
The Plants That Made Me. Series 2.
2025
My work is a celebration of the plants that I encounter in my urban environment. Plants considered ‘ruderal’ and generally overlooked.
As I walk, I am drawn to these plants that seem to be growing abundantly, thriving in areas of neglect and human disturbance. While serving as examples of ecological adaptation in the face of global capitalism and colonialism.
To me, they are much more than plants that exist in the fringes, regularly subjected to plant blindness. And hold meaning beyond their botanical names and classifications. The work serves as an antidote to the concept of plant blindness, while looking at these plants through a ‘kin centric approach’. Acknowledging them for their presence and the role they play in how I map my existence and life.
The works presented are autobiographical cartographic illustrations of the villages and regions that I walk around Cambridge and encounter these plants across the seasons.
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Media - Hand embroidery on Upcycled fabric dyed naturally from Ruderal plants.
