Re Composing

This artwork featured in Synthetic Landscapes (2017).

Like a batch of plants being grown in a benign environment, Re Composing is a group of mini-installations that have found a new habitat. The work was sited in one of the derelict gardener’s bothies where traces of former use linger; troughs, buckets, carcasses of tools all contributed to their own set of possibilities for the artist to use. Originally the bothies would have backed onto the glass hothouses of the Pineapple house: Maurer builds on the idea of creating conditions in glass that would allow for something to flourish and grow. Here, small plants are placed on an Over Head Projector, creating large scale versions of themselves on the wall, as if grown by light and glass in an organic process.

Capability Brown created views to be appreciated from certain vantage points, often with secret pockets to discover. During his lifetime, status would have been measured in how many bedding plants were planted seasonally – this inspired the idea of using mirrors to create infinite flowerbeds that continue into the distance.

Like jewels thriving in a secret location, far from prying eyes, the installation beat with a life of its own. Maurer created an alternative and precious pleasure garden that appeals to all the senses.

Image: Helen Maurer, Re Composing, Mixed media installation, installation view, Synthetic Landscapes, Weston Park and Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery, 2017. Image courtesy of Meadow arts. Photography by Stefan Handy. 

 

About the artist

Helen Maurer

Helen Maurer exhibited in Synthetic Landscapes, Weston park; Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, 2017.

Image: Helen Maurer, Re Composing. Mixed media installation. Courtesy the artist and Danielle Arnaud.