Gemma Anderson
During the process of observation it becomes apparent that individual plants are sites of many forms and symmetries; each body begins to reveal itself as yet another composite: a landscape of form. Plants can have isomorphic relationships in their internal workings and composition; therefore, individual plants are sites of composition, and some parts of the plant seem more important because they gesture out towards resemblance with other plants. With a collection of plants, it is helpful to then identify two or more plants that share a form or resemble each other. This meditation is a practice to develop novel plant imagery in the ‘mind’s eye’. Here we focus on a plant, but you could also try this with another material. The practise may lead to a drawing or a piece of writing or something else. It lasts around 25 minutes. You can repeat the stages or pause to vary the timings of the practise. It will probably help to close your eyes, although sometimes gestures and drawings in the air will help. Select which exercises are right for you.
P.J.F. Turpin, The Plant Archetype published in Goethe, Works on Natural History, 1837
Gemma Anderson is an artist and researcher based at the University of Exeter. Together with John Dupré, author of numerous titles on the philosophy of science, and James Wakefield, a cell-biologist, she is investigating novel image-making practices to provide more intuitively dynamic representations of living systems through an innovative collaboration between art, biology and philosophy.
For more information please visit: http://www.probioart.uk/
