A journey through time: From moss to magnolia
A vibrant artwork, celebrating nearly 500 million years of plant evolution, is on show in the Garden Room, provoking lively enquiry and wonder about how plant life emerged on Earth. This magnificent multimedia artwork, which spans the back wall of the Garden Room, located in the Schools Garden, was co-created by a team of Community Scheme members, staff and volunteers.
Inspired by plants in the Garden and led by artist Annabel Lee, the contributors created 65 canvases depicting plant life from about 470 million years ago when green algae first started to evolve to leave freshwater and survive on land. Community contributors were drawn from local Cambridge charity Make, Do and Mend which was founded in 2010 by a group of people with personal and familial experience of mental ill-health.
“Generally, being somewhere with lots of plants and trees is lovely. Being around nature makes me feel calmer and being around wood too – there is lots of wood in the garden room – it is freeing.”
The contributors created their artwork using recycled and upcycled materials. Look closely and you may be able to see repurposed items such as old paintbrushes, cardboard boxes, donated canvases, beads, used coffee stirrers, empty milk bottles and many other everyday items. The piece also incorporates natural materials from the Garden, including ginkgo leaves, ferns, cones, and some bamboo that has been cleverly made to resemble horsetails.
We are grateful to University of Cambridge Museums and Arts Council England for their generous support in helping to fund this project.
Community members create the mural
“I have enjoyed the teamwork. It is extremely rewarding seeing what we’ve produced, learning techniques. I have learnt by osmosis.”
Learn more about plant evolution in the Garden
If you would like to learn more about plant evolution visit the Garden’s Life Before Flowers Glasshouse and ascend the Rising Path near the Systematic Beds. Get in touch if you are a Community member and think that your organisation’s beneficiaries would enjoy a free guided visit and activity. Email Louise Campbell, Communities Coordinator, with some possible dates and any questions you have: communities@botanic.cam.ac.uk
“In the Botanic Garden, people feel comfortable. You get a bit of a buzz walking through the Garden – colours, size of leaves – so much variety. I just didn’t know.“
