Standing on the edge of the lake in the formal Italian
section of the garden, admiring the giant koi as they cut through the water
before disappearing back into the murky depths, an English afternoon is
suddenly interrupted by song, floating across the water from elsewhere; it is
Rebecca Lee's Song Sung When. At
first listening the song sounds faintly familiar, a folk song misremembered? But
as I move towards the sound the words reveal themselves to be something other
than English, the effect of this and the other sound works in the collection,
create a jolt - a rupture in the fabric of the day, throwing the listener into
some other time and place, which feels ancient, other-worldly and at odds with
the Englishness of a day out with the
National Trust.
The sound works presented here are selected field recordings
from Nepal, Morocco, USA and Italy, and are presented alongside plants
originating from these places, perhaps creating in the listener a similar sense
of the exotic as would have been felt by those avid plant hunters, the
Victorians - when setting out their collections of plants from all over the
world, amidst the ordinariness of the English country garden.
This is James Bateman's glorious Biddulph Grange; the design
of the garden suggests a series of outdoor rooms or small countries, the effect
of which is to make the site seem bigger than its 17 acres. The garden was
designed in the period somewhere between Capability Brown's large scale
landscapes and the high Victorian period of garden design, which sought to
accommodate the new craze for plant collecting from around the world. Bateman
and his wife were avid plant collectors, and with the help of artist friend
Edward William Cooke, the Biddulph Grange gardens were designed with their
collection in mind.
A walk through reveals a series of pocket gardens, each
reflecting the styles and landscaping features of other, far-away places - and
indeed accommodating their plants too; conjuring ideas of the grand tour in
miniature, where not just plants but architectural follies surprise the
explorer (visitor). The idea of a Chinese Pagoda, over the hedge from an
Egyptian Pyramid flanked by Sphinxes seems incongruous, and has something of
the theme park about it, but it works here, since it is a theme park to nature.
The excitement and thrill expressed through the design itself, may not be immediately
obvious in today's garden, but Bateman's passion is revealed through the artworks in
Dangerous Discoveries, which seek to make visible the hidden and forgotten
world of the plant hunter. In addition, the works draw our attention towards the
understanding that comes with hindsight around the unchecked introduction of
thousands of foreign species into the English Countryside, which the Victorians,
men like Bateman, were responsible for. This obsessive importing of species grows
ever more concerning, in particular in relation to some of the plants that are
now known as invasive species by bodies like the Royal Horticultural Society, who
describe these fast growing non-native species as problematic in the way that they:
"- Outcompete native species
either by habitat change or by spreading so rapidly as to crowd out slower
growing species, threatening the long-term survival of species.
-Take a long time to become
invasive. Many of the plants now considered invasive have been growing in the
UK for over 100 years and for much of that time showed no sign of becoming a
problem."
[i]Royal Horticultural Society (2015) Invasive
Non-Native Species. Available: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=530. Last
accessed 6th October 2015.
A number of the artworks in the show deal directly with
plants and Laura Youngson Coll's exquisite orchid works seem to most closely reflect
the shows title. The dangers of orchid collecting and hunting are well
documented and these works refer directly to James Bateman's horticultural
credentials as a leading authority on tropical orchids, as set out in his book
of 1843 Orchids of Mexico and Guatemala[ii].
The book reveals in some detail the little care for the terrible destruction of
natural habitats across the world which was the result of the Victorian's plant
obsession; native species decimated in their homelands for the sake of the
Victorian's thirst for the strangest, rarest and most exotic of species. These
intricate and beautiful artworks, through their display, look at first like
simple botanical specimens; but on closer inspection reveal themselves to be something
all together stranger. Made of vellum and hair sheep leather on top of an
armature, the plants are beautiful but deadly looking objects of immaculate
skill. In Grotesques Creatures, in
particular, the artist has taken the
already otherworldly orchid and created something akin to a plant and insect
hybrid, a flowering of parasitic insects suggest a genetic modification turned
mutant. Two of the artworks are found within the Shelter House, a grand
architectural turret, overlooking the Dahlia Walk; a feature that was lost in
history (during the Grange's time as a hospital) but reinstated in recent years.
The siting of the works here seem to bring the viewer a moment of pause - as
the building brings the journey around the garden to a momentary stop - a
chance to look back at where you have been. The final work in the series is
hidden within the tunnels which lead to the Chinese Garden, the effect is to
create a feeling in the viewer of something secret and precious, perhaps
contraband. These are some of the works in the show that respond to the unique
character of the garden, which is as much about hidden passages, routes and
inside spaces, as an experience of the great outdoors.
In Sarah Tulloch's Parallel
Nature one such interior space is utilised, and the feeling of being moved
from one place and time to another, which seems to recur as you move throughout
the garden is extended by the invitation to stop for a moment in between Egypt
and somewhere else. The video piece consists of a series of montages, which
explore aspects of the garden in minute detail. The collection of images, sounds
and photographs document the work which continues in the garden today and at
times reveals the hidden world of micro-biology. This work takes the viewer from
swamp land, to woodland glade and through to formal manicured landscape,
perhaps reflecting the evolution of life in the garden. The experience of
standing and watching the projected works in the tunnel close to Egypt gives a
nod towards those awe inspiring scientists, the Ancient Egyptians. With this
work the garden is experienced on an entirely different level, as a living,
breathing ecosystem of organisms, the piece too, seems to place the gardener at
the centre of this sensitive ecology, working hard to maintain the precarious balance.
If Tulloch's piece requires the viewer to focus in, and
uncovers the hidden and invisible micro world, the works of Katie and Rebecca
Beinart highlight the physical architecture, responding to the gardens platforms
and levels. At times the viewer is invited to move around to unexpected aspects,
creating the feeling of experiencing the landscape almost from above. The four
sculptures reference the Wardian Cases which were developed by Nathaniel Ward
in 1830, which for the first time developed a way for plants to be transported
across the world, surviving long sea crossings. [iii] That
some of the sites for the sculptures are at odds with the preferred habitats of
the plants housed within, directly responds to the difficulty of transporting
plants to and from other places. In particular the case containing Hart's
tongue ferns, found on the grassed area by the geological gallery in full sun, has
resulted in some quite sickly looking plants. It is well documented that
Bateman himself was often frustrated by some species inability to adapt to the
English climate, and no level of horticultural skill will coax a plant to
survive and thrive in an unsuitable habitat.
The materials which the pieces are constructed from
reference the key industries of North Staffordshire, steel and ceramic; and perhaps
nod to the development of the gardens from the Bateman's family money, made
within the local coal and steel industry. The suggested geographies within the
works request that the viewer stand back from the garden and provide a macro
view of its design; suddenly an overview is achieved, as the viewer is placed
in a position of omnipotent onlooker. The pieces shift the scale of the garden
once more, and we are reminded that everything here is not natural, but designed.
The experience of moving around Biddulph Grange gardens
creates an immersive feeling of being somewhere else, the walker can feel lost
in the labyrinthine tunnels, walkways and interlocking rooms, the Beinart
Sculptures, however, jolt the viewer back to the reality of constructed
landscape, by providing the privileged view of the architect.
The artists in Dangerous Discoveries have responded to, excavated
and revealed a fantastic jewel of a garden on many different levels. The Trust
New Art series, which this exhibition is a part of, is bringing a new arts audience to gardens and
properties like this, but in addition, the artists are enabling new views of
familiar places for frequent visitors, and uncovering new ways of uncovering
the hidden histories within our heritage.
Dangerous Discoveries continues at Biddulph Grange until
31st October, 2015.
Review commissioned by The National Trust as part of the Trust New Art series.
Review commissioned by The National Trust as part of the Trust New Art series.
[i] Royal
Horticultural Society (2015) Invasive Non-Native Species. Available:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=530. Last accessed 6th October 2015.
[iii] National Trust (2015). Dangerous Discoveries.
Staffordshire: Trust New Art.
