wandering sailor 1996
triskel arts centre, cork

Wandering Sailor is an installation utilising plants grown in milk bottles as its' focus.

The bottles act as a type of miniature glass house, or bottle garden, nurturing the cuttings of wandering sailor ( in these conditions the plants started to behave as do tropical plants, throwing out aerial roots etc.).

The bottles are placed, apparently randomly, on tressels at hip height, but when seen aerially it becomes apparent that each set of bottles configure to a different constellation. When viewed from a lower level the tressels take on the air of an artificial forest.

Two 10''. 4'' black and white photographs, one of the mother plant, one of the star map used to source the constellations, accompany this exhibition.

This work came about as a result of an interest in plant collection, cultivation, the architecture that builds up around it and the politics it exposes.

The artificially reared plants, the constellations and their presentation were all vehicles to explore the politics around cultural collecting, orientation and cartography.

Mixed media, plants, wood, sheet glass, glass bottles, photographs
30'.15'.3' / 900cm.450cm.90cm