Decline I - Nelumbo nucifera - Limited Edition 1 of 20 Photograph

Artist Statement : There is no real start or finish in nature, its all a process, but since the arrival of the Anthropocene the influence humans have in shaping the process is huge. Plants are the dominant species on the planet being 99.5% of the total mass and we are totally dependant on them for life. But our general perception of them is of inanimate beings. Over the last 25 years I have become deeply connected with the plant world; while shaping and influencing their lives for my own ends by day in my garden and my studio, I have been at the same time studying the extraordinary secret life of plants. This has influenced my approach to creating an image, I use different types of perception to not only see the form, but to understand the meaning of the form and to reveal its ‘gesture’. which means having a communion with my subjects and a desire to feel their very life force. As Goethe writes ‘To approach vital nature requires a different cognitive capacity and cognitive organ from that used to perceive inert nature’ I would go so far as to call myself a vitalist. I connect with the vital force that exists in all living things, an intelligent presence that directs and informs the organism on all levels. I suggest abstract concepts using nature as metaphor, illustrating the patterns and connections between the cycles and processes in nature and our own, not only physical but also emotional and spiritual. I explore traits and behaviour in plants that are very similar to humans. Quantum physics tells us there is no objectivity and we are inextricably intertwined with everything that we experience. The material world is not a collection of separate objects, but is a network of relations between the various parts of a unified whole. As more evidence unfolds about plants ability to connect with each other and with the wider world, I question our relationship with plants and our perception of nature as a whole. We must come to see that we are not separate from nature but a part of it.