Jerwood Gallery's courtyard is now hosting a beautiful installation which brings a warm light to these dark days.
The artists Heywood & Condie have created a piece of sculptural architecture consisting of a greenhouse constructed from 18th and 19th Century stained glass. The Christian imagery has been dismantled and reused to present a world of chimeras, mythical creatures and folkloric hybrids.
Part plant/part human/part insect, these creatures combine to suggest a more primitive world. The walls are adorned with symbols and patterns which humans have used for thousands of years to celebrate the cycle of life. A digital folkloric spirit inhabits the space, symbolising the act of gardening as a transcendent activity.
Limelight: The Gardener is a horticultural temple – a metaphor for the living Earth and a place of sanctuary and introspection. It represents an environment in which nature holds an elevated position. It is through daily rituals of watering, sowing and feeding, that The Gardener may achieve a deeper understanding of his or her place in the world.
The nurture and care of nature fosters hope, faith and responsibility and, through these emotions, The Gardener learns to experience a sense of wonder and a heightened physical engagement with the external world.
