Rebecca Newnham

Quercus 6m tall

2008

The Harold Hillier Gardens near Southampton have kindly offered me access to all areas of their research facilities. The resulting body of work will be shown predominantly at ‘Art in the Garden’ at the Hillier Gardens this summer, and in shows in Wimbledon, Rutland and Salisbury. This work explores the concept of energy, photosynthesis and geometry within a language of botanical structures. In particular it focuses upon the production of energy within plants and it is a metaphoric exploration of triumphant life via symbolic botanical form.

 

The enormous and world famous collection of oaks contained in the gardens have inspired two large sculptures, 5m and 6m tall; they consider the profile of the characteristically lobed leaves of the Oak. As leaves are the solar panels of trees they demand a place amongst my new work