New exhibition Radical Botany — an exploration of the artist’s role in the collecting and recording of flora — opens today at The Eden Project.

Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), William Arnold, 2016

“The current classification of plants, their taxonomy as we know it, is inherently linked to the acquisition of botanical collections. Artists travelling with scientists collecting evidence of newfound flora would record specimens on their travels and on their return.

Plants have been traded, sold and moved across the globe, their travels mimicking the migration of people through time. Unfortunately, with this movement, and the colonising of land, whole ecosystems have often been disrupted and species lost. 

From the scent of an extinct flower to the beauty of everyday vegetables, Radical Botany invites us to contemplate and reflect on the seemingly ubiquitous yet aesthetically pleasing world of plants, our relationship with them and their effect on the wider human experience.”

Works exhibited include those by friend of the river William Arnold.

The exhibition runs from now until May 2020, and is free to attend with Eden admission. Additional information is available here.