Output details

An Alternative Herbal (A Sense of Place)

Randall, J. (2008) "An Alternative Herbal", exhibited in "A Sense of Place – Sculpture in the Garden 2008" at Harold Martin Botanic Garden, University of Leicester, 21 June – 14 September 2008.

In 2008, Jill Randall was one of six contemporary sculptors from the UK and Europe commissioned by the Richard Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester (http://www.le.ac.uk/embracearts/), to make new, site-specific work for the “Sculpture in the Garden” Exhibition held at the University of Leicester's Harold Martin Botanic Garden (http://jillrandall.co.uk/site-specific-work-2/a-sense-of-place-leicester-botanic-garden/)

(http://www.le.ac.uk/ebulletin-archive/ebulletin/news/press-releases/2000-2009/2008/06/nparticle.2008-06-19.html)

This project develops Randall’s site-specific sculpture practice, involving representations of the familiar and creating new ways of navigating spaces. The research explores opportunities to reconnect healing plants and shrubs with the physical body through sculpture. The work aims to create a visitor experience that is both visual and visceral, whilst enabling an alternative navigation of the garden.

Randall researched the botanic gardens of medieval monasteries in Europe and Asia. Such gardens were originally used for reference and education, acting as a 'living library' and learning resource for the study of the medicinal properties of plants and their effect on human physiology.

Randall's work, “An Alternative Herbal”, consists of six individual, site-specific sculptures in laser-cut steel, based on drawings of internal bodily organs. These works are located around the botanic garden adjacent to significant plants, referencing the practice of leaving an “Ex-Voto”—a votive offering for recovery from illness or injury.

Randall’s research contributes to an transdisciplinary body of knowledge on human health and the environment, and the intersection of art and science in aesthetic practice. It references the work of contemporary artists Cornelia Parker and Tacita Dean, and examines how science is affecting the creation and interpretation of contemporary art (Ede, 2000 & 2005).

The exhibition was accompanied by the catalogue "A Sense of Place: Sculpture In the Garden" (University of Leicester, 2008 – ISBN 978-0-901507-04-4), and attended by some 9,000 visitors.The exhibition was accompanied by interpretative workshops and guided tours, which took place throughout the exhibition period.