The Botany of Desire

The Botany of Desire explored the reciprocal relationship between the human and other-than human world of plants, shaped by seduction, adaptation and mutual influence. For millennia the beauty, mythology and utility of plants have been subjects of fascination for artists. The earliest surviving botanical illustrations date back to the year 512 and formed part of a pharmacopoeia of herbs and medicines. During the Tang dynasty (618-906) in China, paintings of ancient trees and bamboo by scholar-artists became a revered genre of spiritual reflection. By the 1600s many European artists were producing still life paintings of flowers and fruit, and the creation of flower studies for pure visual pleasure became widespread during the tulip mania of the following century.

Drawing inspiration from the concept that the evolution of plants has been influenced by human desire, the exhibition examined how this botanical allure has shaped human behaviour, reframing plants not merely as passive subjects of representation but as active agents in a shared ecological narrative.

Spanning more than a century of artistic practice, the exhibition brought together painting, photography, sculpture, video and decorative arts from the late 19th century to the present day, tracing shifting aesthetic and symbolic engagements with plants and flowers.