This body of work was inspired by gardens, both formal and wild that I had visited in Devon and Dorset, England in 2018. Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables  inspired me to touch on the political and social issues of our time such as climate change.  The main protagonist of the novel, Jean Valjean commented that “nothing in this garden obstructed the sacred effort of things towards life; venerable growth reigned there among them”. (Chapter 111). Life continues.

The importance of a garden and our earth and all the care given to it to flourish is of utmost importance. “It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince.

Just as we are brought into the limbo of another world by the atmospheric use of colour and brushwork, it is my intention that the work transports the viewer to an emotional and metaphysical place where the imagination flows freely and considers our present time in space. As much as a garden can be called beautiful, it is actually an access point to a deeper, more visceral understanding of the impermanence and spirit of our lives and also the rebirth and continuation of nature.