Inverness Botanic Gardens project creates plant art
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A project at Inverness Botanic Gardens has used an unusual camera-less procedure to make striking images of plants now being exhibited in the city's museum and art gallery.
The technique, known as cyanotype photography involves laying an object such as a leaf or flower on paper coated with a solution of iron salts before exposing it to UV light and washing with water to create stunning white and Prussian blue images.
Gardeners from the GROW project at Inverness Botanic Gardens created the cyanotype prints which can be seen in IMAG's Community Gallery until Saturday, January 13, giving plenty of time for people to visit the collaborative exhibition into the New Year.
Eleanor Campbell, High Life Highland’s (HLH) horticultural trainer at the gardens, said: “Half of the gardens are looked after by GROW, a horticultural therapy project.
“GROWhas been providing practical horticultural training for adults with additional support needs for over 15 years and now operates with a group of around 30 gardeners and volunteers, improving independence, health, and happiness.”
Alison Parfitt, HLH’s curator (Engagement) at IMAG said: “We are delighted to be able to showcase the creativity of the GROW gardeners by displaying their cyanotypes.”
Workshops were led at Inverness Botanic Gardens by Elaine Chisholm from the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Participatory Art Practice course.
She said: “As part of the BA (Hons) Contemporary Art Practices Course at the University of the Highlands and Islands, I was lucky to have the opportunity of a placement at the Inverness Botanic Gardens.
“As part of my placement, I held a participatory art workshop for the GROW project, and it was a pleasure to share the cyanotype process with the GROW gardeners.
"Plants grown in the gardens were laid on the paper to shield areas of the paper from the UV light, creating striking botanical prints.
“It was a great way for the GROW gardeners to engage with the plants creatively, and record what they have been growing.”
HLH is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, the largest charity and third sector provider in the Highlands. It was formed in October 2011 by Highland Council and is the council’s arms-length charity.
HLH operates 12 services: adult learning, archives, arts, catering and commercial, countryside rangers, leisure, libraries, museums, music development, outdoor activities, and youth work.
