Chelsea Physic Garden

Research-led project within a living botanical collection

Embodied Surfaces examines relationships between plants and the individuals who choose to carry them permanently on the body.

Its first iteration took place at Chelsea Physic Garden. The work developed through an extended period of on-site engagement with the garden’s living collection, dedicated to medicinal, herbal, and useful plants. The garden includes historically organised beds used for plant research and interpretation. Species were selected through direct observation and archival sources, considering their botanical properties and uses. This process formed the basis of the conceptual and visual framework.

An open call invited members of the public to submit plant-related narratives connected to healing and personal experience. Over 200 applications were received. A selected participant was tattooed on site, with the final composition developed in response to the preceding study and the individual collaboration.

The tattoo session was the main public outcome, activating the garden by bringing tattooing into its programme. By introducing tattooing as an entry point, the work offered alternative ways of encountering the medicinal focus and historical context, reaching audiences not typically engaged through conventional formats.

In parallel, individuals tattooed as part of my practice over several years were invited to take part in filmed conversations, reflecting on their tattoos and their ongoing relationships with the plants they carry. These films extend the work beyond the live event, forming a set of archival material that situates Embodied Surfaces within a broader enquiry into human and plant relationships.