Artscape commissioned this work for the newly built White Leaf hospital in Aylesbury which will provide mental health services for Buckinghamshire. I worked on the project in collaboration with Emma Reynard with Chris Tipping as lead artist for the development.  Working to the theme “ Bringing the outside inside”, we researched herbs which were historically used for their calming, stress relieving properties .

The hospital was built on the site of an old manor house which was known for it’s kitchen garden and conservatories with exotic fruits. We have been working with plants which may have been found in this victorian kitchen garden, and which were historically used for medicinal purposes. The plants we selected were used for  for calming, stress-relieving properties or to promote memory and mental well being. The work suggests the healing power of nature, both as a visual experience and through it’s medicinal uses.

We are grateful to the Herbarium at Oxford University for allowing us access to their vast collection of plant specimens and for providing interesting historical background about the plants when we researched the project.

The panels are installed on both sides of a corridor at varying heights.