Seedscapes: Future-Proofing Nature at Impressions Gallery

In a world shaped by Covid-19, it seems more important than ever to consider nature, biodiversity, and the environment. Seedscapes brings together five contemporary artists exploring global efforts to safeguard vital plant species from extinction. Plant diversity is rapidly declining, and faces threats from global warming, pollution and war. Yet without seeds and their potential for food and medicine, we cannot sustain ourselves. Featuring photography, moving image and sculpture, Seedscapes reveals how international artists, biologists and ecologists are responding to these challenges.

Dornith Doherty has worked with renowned biologists at some of the most comprehensive seed banks in the world. Her series Archiving Eden reveals repositories ranging from an antique wood-panelled herbarium in St Petersburg to a hi-tech biogenics lab in Brazilia. In a companion series using scientific imaging systems including x-rays, Doherty has created ethereal composites of seeds in ‘suspended animation’. As well as works on paper, she produces beguiling lenticular images that change when seen from different angles, the seeds appearing to magically flicker into life as the viewer approaches.