MA Art in Science exhibition - 'The Speculative Herbarium'

‘Mindful Garden: The Speculative Herbarium’ by Samantha Cooper

Plants are a rich source of medicinal compounds, both for the pharmaceutical industry and as traditional medicines. The climate crisis and overharvesting are having a devastating impact on medicinal plants, with many species facing extinction, posing a significant threat to global health.

Despite this crisis and a long history of preserving plants in herbariums, medicinal plants are often underrepresented in public-facing educational institutions such as museums. ‘The Speculative Herbarium’ intertwines scientific practices used ‘behind the scenes’ in herbaria with visual art and poetry, offering an insight into the important preservation work occurring in herbaria.

The wider project, ‘Mindful Garden’, seeks to raise awareness of ‘plant blindness’; a phenomenon where people overlook the importance of plants in the biosphere, and inspires action through an interdisciplinary practice-based approach. It has developed toolkits that can be used as educational resources, raising awareness of medicinal plant uses and climate change monitoring methods.

John Lennon Art & Design Building. Public preview 15^th August 5pm-7pm. Open 16^th-23^rd August 9am-5pm (excluding weekends).

The MA Art in Science programme at Liverpool School of Art and Design, Liverpool John Moores University, brings artists and scientists together to collaborate across disciplines. The programme cultivates specialist, transferable skills directed towards future vocational opportunities; and facilitates transdisciplinary learning opportunities that are not often available to those singly defined as ‘artists’ or ‘scientists’. Read more at https://lsad.co.uk/programmes/ma-art-in-science/ and follow the programme on X, Instagram and Facebook @artinsciencema