A lot of my research and artistic practice in recent years has focused on the botanical world, considering plants as active agents rather than a passive backdrop. I have explored botanical nationalism, flower diplomacy and medicinal plants in South Africa as well as the garden Nelson Mandela and his fellow inmates created in Robben Island prison during their 18 year incarceration (Theatrum Botanicum). I’ve also created a communal medicinal herb garden in London and worked with a cooperative of women in Congo on another garden project (Learning from Artemisia). I have also researched the changes in land use and the agricultural movements in Europe and beyond it (Soil Affinities).

I am particularly interested in trees as witnesses, intersecting human and natural history (Memory of Trees, Wishing Trees). I have also recently become more interested in the ecosystem of the forest as a physical but also mental space and have been inspired by

Eduardo Kohn’s book How Forests Think.

My work is quite research based and responsive to site. After an initial visit to a place I develop an interest in one aspect / area which I pursue over time and through longer stays. I usually don’t have a preconceived theme or medium but rather develop both the thematic focus and the methodology context-specific and research driven. Dialogue, exchange and engaging with local stakeholders, population and practitioners is always key in the development of any project. I work with analogue photography, video, drawing, installation and socially engaged practices.