The speed of our lives continues to accelerate, moving us ever further, from the pace and rhythms of the natural world. My work attempts to slow the viewer down and bring into focus that which is often no longer seen. This 'slowing down', the recognition of the cycles of growth in our natural world, has redefined my own perception of the ordinary plants that surround us.
The specimens that have been the focus of my practice represent the ignored, the misunderstood, the undervalued. The plants that we often drive past or eliminate from our gardens.
By removing these plants from their natural environment and singling them out, I place the importance on the familiar and thereby invite the viewer to appreciate the individual plants on their own terms.
During this process I have tried to step beyond long established ideas of natural beauty, cultivated ideals and the traditional ways to display and document plants.
The influences in my practice range from traditional photographic to the more fact-focused representations of science. These influences have been further informed by my own botanical background.
For this work, it was my desire to disrupt traditional expectations of botanical imagery and create a new conversation about our perceptions of those familiar plants that surround us
Elle Anderson
January 2015