Gunneraceae

About

Kate Goodrich was the first artist-in-residence invited into 195 Mare Street, one of Hackney's oldest buildings, at the beginning of the year, and hers will be the final exhibition at the address before the house will be closed for restoration work from October.

Curated by Liam Newnham, Gunneraceae is Goodrich's first solo exhibition, the title referencing the botanical name of the ancient plant family that inspired her current body of work. Large-scale cyanotypes are presented alongside pressed leaves of the majestic plant that can grow to several metres in height.

With a well-documented fossil history the plant is known to have originated in South America during the Cretaceous era and was introduced into cultivation in Western Europe towards the end of the 19th century. Popular with Victorian gardeners, exotic plants have historical links to Mare Street, in particular that of Loddiges of Hackney, a once-famous plant nursery in the same street as the exhibition venue. 

Plants collected by an institution such as Loddiges would be given a Latin name, supplanting its local name and erasing knowledge of the world in which it existed. With a non-interventionist approach and following biodynamic principles, Kate Goodrich draws on this ancient wisdom with a practice embedded in the continuous rhythm of nature. Exposing her cyanotypes during full moon cycles, she has established a connection with the plant's prehistoric roots. 

The most recent works in the exhibition were created in collaboration with last month's blue moon supermoon, as subtle marks left by the elements combined with the artist's own result in a unique painterly effect. The exhibition is complemented by an experimental living sculpture at the back of the house. Wtih Seed Bed the artist-gardener reintroduced indigenous wild flowers to a space previously covered in concrete to illustrate a connection to Hackney's pre-colonial past.

In her accompanying text, Mellany Robinson, co-curator at the Museum of British Folklore, explores the ongoing relationship between humans and the moon as a daily reminder of a force greater than civilisations and empires. The artist's lunar collaborator will be present at the opening of Gunneraceae which coincides with this year's Harvest Moon on 29 September.

The exhibition will be running on an appointment only basis, if you wish to make an appointment, please contact the artist.