Case Studies III
Felicity Jones & Mark Smith
6 – 25 August 2024
These works are a small selection from the most recent travels of photographer Mark Smith and botanical artist Felicity Jones. Their ongoing collaboration explores the history and impacts of global plant movement, and in particular, exchanges between Britain and Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Curiosity around early European settler gardens in Aotearoa lead Felicity to the discovery of the Wardian case. This seemingly humble wood and glass case that transported plants around the globe provided the catalyst for the visual storytelling of her and Mark; from the small stories of maintaining an emotional connection to a distant homeland, through to the wider cultural, social and environmental effects of botanical globalisation.
The pair have travelled throughout New Zealand with their own ( interpretation of ) ‘Wardian Case’ making images that juxtapose the native with exotic. “Conceptually, we also like the idea of visual containment as a way of elevating a plant’s status and to highlight the tensions between different physical, and cultural, landscapes.”
For Aotearoa particularly, the timing of the Wardian Case’s invention in 1829 (by Londoner Dr Nathaniel Bradshaw Ward) meant that, very quickly, along with the influx of European settlers, it’s landscape was irrevocably changed. Globally, the vital part this travelling plant case played in colonisation, is only now being fully appreciated.
The Tuia 250 commemorations (marking 250 years since the first on shore encounters between Māori and Pakeha) provided impetus for exploring earlier botanical endeavours, particularly the specimens collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, pressed, serendipitously, between pages from ‘Notes on Milton’s Paradise Lost’.
Last year Mark and Felicity travelled ‘full circle’ creating new work in England that provide an important and satisfying counterpoint to the NZ experience. The trip was hugely enhanced by several unique opportunities, being granted access and spending time within the inner sanctums of some of the world’s most important botanical institutions has resulted in a very special set of images, some of which we see here in Case Studies III.
Mark and Felicity are looking forward to the 2025 publication of a book, currently in development, that will capture the full breadth of their botanical endeavours and subsequent work.
From our most intimate human needs – to cultivate and care, to feel at home, to larger motivations (and sometimes destructive desires) – to control, and to own, plants have always been central. “In presenting these works we hope to contribute to an understanding of the stories of our past, both positive and negative, and inspire discussion around a sustainable future.”
Biographies
Mark Smith has been making photographs since the late 1970s. His work has appeared in many national and international publications plus galleries. Some of his favourite projects have been the Cake Poster Collective, the book Once Removed (on tour with Neil Finn), Person, Place and Animal, a solo show at Artis Gallery, Auckland and Green Man with Deborah Smith and John Reynolds at the Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North. In 2018 he started an ongoing collaborative project with Felicity Jones called Case Studies. He lives in Auckland with his family.
Felicity Jones is a botanical artist with a lifelong interest in all things plant related. Her small organic garden and the natural world beyond provide much of the inspiration and raw material for her work in floristry and set design. She is also a singer/songwriter and heads up the Grey Lynn Kitchen Choir.