Plants exhibition 2020

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As galleries and museums around the world move online in these unprecedented times, so too has the Plants exhibition, which features more than 150 artworks celebrating our love of plants. The exhibition will be available to view online from the comfort of your own home from Saturday 21 March to Sunday 31 May. 

Plants is hosted by Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens, the charity which supports the Royal Botanic Garden where the exhibition was originally meant to be held. The Botanic Garden is a living, breathing museum and the green heart of Sydney.

Plants features a range of mediums, including small sculptures, drawings, photography, paintings and collages, which are expressive, sometimes wildly so, drawn from the artists' personal connection with, inspiration from and love of plants.

Highlights include Laura Blythman's paper collage artwork, a playful and colourful collection of dreamt and imagined landscapes, flora, fauna and magical places.

Christina McLean from Trade the Mark is exhibiting a new ceramic collection called pathways. Her bold patterns, muted palette and pared-back finishes speak so clearly of the Australian bushland. Photographer Daniel Shipp will show beautiful and haunting works about found plants.

Also look for the unusual and charming works of Jason McDonald, whose modern blend of photography and digital design is inspired by plants in the Garden. His eye for detail captures the underlying relationships between plants and insects, and his work comes with a magnifying glass, so viewers are able to experience a naturalist's perspective of these mostly hidden life cycles.

We are also introducing an exhibition gift shop for the first time ever. The gift shop includes treasures such as nature-inspired earrings by Tasmanian contemporary jeweller Janine Combes, custom ceramics by muralist Andrew Dennis, and hand-poured candles from Newtown-based Hunter Candles. Artist and illustrator Flora Waycott has a range of prints and greeting cards available in the gift shop in addition to her three artworks in the exhibition.

"We want to offer everyone the opportunity to take something home, with accessible work at a good price point, in a wide range of mediums," says Exhibitions Project Manager Stephanie Chambers. "And when they do, they're supporting Foundation & Friends as well as the artists."

Now more than ever, let us come together to support communities of artists who we rely on to keep our culture rich and vibrant and our esteemed cultural institutions such as the Botanic Gardens.

The exhibition will return to the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney from Sunday 19 July - Sunday 2 August, where artworks purchased during pre-sales will be available for collection once the exhibition closes.

Our artists have been hard at work for many months creating beautiful and emotive artworks that express our deep connection to the natural world, and the decision to show the exhibition both online and at the gallery in July stems from our desire to share with you something positive and good during these uncertain times.