Lambeth Wilds
Lambeth Wilds is a permanent installation inside the Garden Museum by artist Katie Spragg.
Lambeth Wilds Project - Careers in Old Paradise Garden, Lambeth (2019) by Garden MuseumGarden Museum
Katie developed the artwork throughout 2019, through a research residency and connected workshops with the local community groups. This project realises an ambition of Katie’s to create work in direct response to the collaboration and participation of other people, in this case young people from Lambeth Young Carers, people with Dementia through the Clay for Dementia programme and Garden Museum visitors and workshop participants.
Lambeth Young Carers
In April a group of young people from Lambeth Young Carers came to the Garden Museum to work on a six day project. They looked at objects in the museum collection, searched the local area for wild plants; drawing and photographing those that they found and learnt clay modelling and animating techniques.
Taking wild, opportunistic plants and the way they may be overlooked or hidden as its theme, this project aspires to celebrate and make visible these plants and communities local to the museum that may also be overlooked or hidden within our wider society. This photo shows Katie and some of the Lambeth Young Carers investigating weeds in Old Paradise Gardens.
Lambeth Wilds - Lambeth Young Carers Workshops with Katie Spragg (2019) by Jon HollowayGarden Museum
The young people brought this research together into a series of stop-frame clay animations. These considered connections been wild plants and being a young carer.
Installation shot of Katie Spragg's Community research (2020) by Katie SpraggGarden Museum
Throughout the project, Katie collected people's stories and memories of wild plants. These stories and observations have informed the plants featured in the commission. Here you can see some of the memories, alongside Katie’s research into the museum collection and of local flora as well as some of the pieces created by Lambeth Young Carers.
Lambeth Wilds - Lambeth Young Careers (2019) by Helen Perrault-NewbyGarden Museum
Memories collected connecting to Daisies.
Lambeth Wilds Installation
The new permanent artwork is housed above the museum’s temporary exhibition space, visible as you climb the stairs to the second floor. This is Katie's largest piece to date. Katie’s catalogue of work includes a piece in the V&A Museum collection and commissions for the British Ceramics Biennale and Sotheby’s.
Lambeth Wilds Installation - Work in Progress (2019) by Katie SpraggGarden Museum
Inspired by research into the Museums collection and her work with Lambeth Young career, Katie carefully created wild plants in porcelain.
Root Detail, 'Lambeth Wilds' Installation by Katie Spragg (2019) by Katie SpraggGarden Museum
Building upon Katie’s porcelain pieces, a concrete base hovers above the ledge, allowing the porcelain plants roots to be visible; intertwined, connected and rooted, like the local community.
Daisy Detail, 'Lambeth Wilds' Installation by Katie Spragg (2019) by Katie SpraggGarden Museum
Common and favourite wild plants; dandelions, nettles, daisies, grasses, ferns ‘grow’ above-ground from the cracks.
Lambeth Wilds with winter sunshine (2020) by Philip Norman and Katie SpraggGarden Museum
Lit by daylight the work changes throughout the day and seasons.
We would like to thank Katie Spragg for her support with this project and the Arts Council who funded her work.
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