Offering something a little different this summer,  St Andrews Botanic Garden are showcasing ‘All The Trees’, the first of two light installations with the internationally renowned Studio Lemercier.

This is part of St Andrews Botanic Garden’s ‘Summer Art Nights’ series which continues until Saturday 10 August. Studio Lemercier is co-directed by independent curator, Juliette Bibasse and visual artist and climate activist, Joanie Lemercier.

This is the duo's Scottish debut. Studio Lemercier is creating new work in partnership with St Andrews Botanic Garden and also exhibiting some existing pieces, all of which reflect on our perception of nature and look to take audiences on a journey of contemplation and a new perspective on the world around us during the ecological crisis we currently face. 

(Image: Studio Lemercier)

All the Trees

‘All the Trees’ re-enchants our senses and encourages us to look at trees in a different light, unveiling details that may usually go unnoticed. By illuminating a section of trees or a single tree in the Garden, the artists transcend conventional exhibition spaces. And as the outdoors transforms into a realm that brings together nature and culture, the installation reinspires a sense of awe, appreciation and care. Each tree highlighted within the exhibition plays an important part in the story of St Andrews Botanic Garden. 

Harry Watkins, St Andrews Botanic Garden Executive Director, said: “St Andrews Botanic Garden is at a point of change, shifting our focus to working at the intersection of design, ecology and evolution. More than ever we need fresh perspectives on plants and how they respond to new conditions, how they shape landscapes and people: working with Studio Lemercier poses fascinating questions and challenges for us about how we might develop the Botanic Garden and our conservation research in a way that goes beyond sustainability. Most importantly, their residency is a conversation: as artists, they not only ask difficult questions but help us to imagine different answers to these questions and possible futures for our plants, society and environment.

“Halfway through their residency, their artwork has already prompted profound emotional responses to the trees, new ideas about what it means to be resilient, how we might curate the Botanic Garden, and how important the relationships are between people, plants and place. It’s exciting to see their work develop during the residency and to see new works and ways of working being prototyped: we are seeing the Garden afresh through their drawings and installations.”

Juliette Bibasse from Studio Mercier added:

“The representation of plants and botany is at the heart of Studio Lemercier's current project. It opens up critical perspectives on the use of technology and AI, and the inherent extractivism upon which these tools operate while encouraging a deeper understanding of their inner workings. This includes the biases and norms that are reproduced. They explore this through their botanical drawings, which include both real and computer-generated plants. Through these and subsequent conversations with botanists, the artists reflect on botanical representation and the use of technology, while implicitly touching on relevant social debates around AI-generated imagery. In addition, the project addresses possible futures in the context of widespread biodiversity loss and reflects on the technological traces that may be the only remnants left after an ever-increasing number of species become extinct.”
Each weekend until  Saturday 10 August, Studio Lemercier will be showing new and existing work across different mediums including light installations, a video work and plotter drawings corresponding to the garden's approach to reframing our perspective on the natural world. 

Find out more about St Andrews Botanic Gardens at www.standrewsbotanic.org