FieldWorks 7: Thurs 11th November 2021 16.30-17.30 GMT

  4th November 2021

An online conversation with artist Gabriella Hirst. Hirst’s recent practice has concerned the entanglement of plant taxonomy and political symbolism, horticulture, nuclear and colonial histories, and sites related to warfare, armaments and diplomacy. Uncovering and working with these often-hidden or under-explored connections involves using many kinds of research methods and activities.

Hirst will be discussing her work, which produce outcomes as film, performance, drawings, public gardens and publications. Research may be conducted over extended periods of time, involving collaboration and inviting participation: for example the Battlefield garden in Tempelhofer Field since 2014, or the ongoing propagation of the rare 1953 Atom Bomb rose since 2015.

An extension of the latter project was presented as a living public sculpture, An English Garden, in summer 2021. Sited in a Shoeburyness park, it explored the political deployment of plants, and drew links between nearby Foulness’ Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, nuclear testing in southern Australia and ongoing legacies that continue today. These histories remain contentious: the work was withdrawn after a coordinated campaign was mounted against it, but the project continues and invites our participation.

http://www.gabriellahirst.com/Works

Gabriella Hirst was the recipient of the 2020 ACMI/Ian Potter Moving Image Commission, is a previous Marten Bequest Scholar and a recipient of the John Crampton Fellowship. She is an associate lecturer in Media Studies with the RCA School of Architecture. She was born in Australia, and is based between Berlin and London.

In conversation with senior lecturer Jean Boyd, from the School of Arts at the University of Gloucestershire.

The Q&A is chaired by Nic Pehkonen, who is studying MA Fine Art.

All FieldWorks events are free to attend, register on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fieldworks-7-an-online-conversation-and-qa-with-artist-gabriella-hirst-tickets-205169285857

Event supported by the Janet Trotter Trust 

Images courtesy of Gabriella Hirst and The Old Waterworks,