‘The Botanist’, Myfanwy MacLeod
HS Projects is delighted to present The Botanist, an exhibition of recent works by Myfanwy MacLeod, not shown in London before, that serve to reconcile us with the botanical world, magnifying the interdependency and symbiotic relationship between plants and humans.
At the centre of the exhibition is ‘Fallen’, a monumental wooden sculpture depicting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Inspired by a small historical sculpture from the collection of the Gherdëina Museum in Ortisei, Italy, an apple is held by Eve and fallen fruit lies at the feet of the figures. However, the Tree of Knowledge is felled.
Within a forest of stumps, Adam and Eve appear as mascot-like stewards of a tree-less anthropocentric paradise. Non-human beings often appear as backdrops to our lives, yet here carved from wood, Myfanwy reminds us that Adam and Eve’s presence is inextricably connected to the trees that are absent she asks how can our kinship with non-human life create the conditions for our mutual survival?
The proliferation and control of nature is explored in ‘Pink Rot’, an installation of identically cast potatoes. The title of the work refers to the pink rot potato disease which is endemic in soils where the crop is repeatedly grown. While genetic modifications may counter disease and increase yield, the impact of intensive farming on soil erosion and biodiversity is still held within the land. The potatoes of ‘Pink Rot’ are witness to this – alluringly pink, cloned immaculately, though heavy and dead. Using the language of minimalism and pop-art, Myfanwy creates an unsettling monument to our agro-ecologies.
An emblem of intertwined yellow tulips features on the hand-painted flag, ‘Figure of a Woman’, a riff on satirical heraldic flags found in the allegorical artworks of Hendrik Gerritsz Pot’s painting ‘Wagon of Fools’ (circa 1632) and Pieter Nolpe’s etching ‘Flora’s Fool’s Cap’ (circa 1637) which mock the craze of Tulipmania in Holland during the 1630s. Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, features in both of these historical works, symbolic of the gendered conventions of flowers her presence also feminises the folly of Tulipmania. In contrast to these works, Myfanwy’s flag asks us to reconsider the feverish impulses of Tulipmania. It communicates the commoditisation of plant life to serve speculation agendas. It can also be interpreted as a flag for Flora, giving status to her powerful identity that crosses the threshold between humans and plants.
Myfanwy MacLeod has exhibited her work throughout Canada, Australia, the United States and Europe.
Solo exhibitions include Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Wales (2023); Canada House, London, UK (2019); Or Gallery, Vancouver (2015); Vancouver Art Gallery (2014); Museum London, London, ON (2013); Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver (2012); Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2006).
Selected group exhibitions include the Biennale Gherdëina, Ortisei, Italy (2020) Polygon Gallery, Vancouver (2017); Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (2013); National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA, USA (2012); Vancouver Art Gallery (2010); Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Toronto (2008); Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Germany (2004); The Power Plant, Toronto; Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburg; Gasworks, London, UK (2002); Canadian Pavilion, Melbourne International Biennial, Australia (1999); and the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Vancouver (1998).
‘The Botanist’ is at Howick Place from December 2024 to June 2025.