Copper wire, flora and a boundless imagination are the tools of London-based Rebecca Louise Law’s artistic practice. With them, she cultivates extraordinary installations, verdant portraits and even sculptures that explore the dynamic between man and nature. ‘I want to share and preserve the beauty of the Earth,’ says Law. ‘I want people to really feel nature and cherish it. That’s what motivates me.’
This month, Law is lending her green-fingered talents to Now Gallery on London’s Greenwich Peninsula for an immersive spring installation titled The Iris. ‘My aim was to create a seasonal work, which opposed but also complimented its environment – which is essentially a concrete metropolis,’ she reveals. In order to do this, she examined the history of the land in which the Now Gallery was built upon and discovered it was ‘a wetland of tidal marshes’ where ‘all sorts of unsavoury things took place, involving the storage of gunpowder and even dodgy dealings with pirates.’
Installation view of ‘The Iris’ at Now Gallery
A detailed analysis into marshland plants that thrived in the area was her next port of call. ‘I discovered that the iris grew there,’ she says. ‘I was immediately drawn to it, I love its symbolic properties and the fact that it’s one of the most commonly cultivated flowers in our modern society,’ she adds.
Admittedly, buying a bunch of irises from your local supermarket will never be quite the same after experiencing Law’s spectacular artwork, which sees 10,000 fresh styles hand-threaded with copper wire and suspended from the gallery’s modernist atrium. ‘I wanted to create this ebb and flow of irises from floor to ceiling,’ she reveals. ‘There will be natural pathways, but the idea is that the viewer will feel completely consumed by the design.’
The fresh, peppery aroma emitted throughout adds yet another sensory dimension, as she explains. ‘Initially the scent will be quite powerful, as will the humidity inside the building, but this will fade as the irises dry out.’ While the blooms will decompose over the display’s two-month run, Law’s intention remains unchanged. ‘I hope the exhibition prompts people to revisit the beauty of the incredible iris – and appreciate it.’
10,000 fresh styles hand-threaded with copper wire are suspended from the gallery’s modernist atrium
The artist says: ‘I wanted to create this ebb and flow of irises’
Law’s aim was to create a seasonal work
INFORMATION
‘The Iris’ is on view until 7 May. For more information, visit the Now Gallery website
ADDRESS
Now Gallery
The Gateway Pavilions
Peninsula Square
Greenwich Peninsula
London SE1 0SQ
-
First look – Bottega Veneta and Flos release a special edition of the Model 600Gino Sarfatti’s fan favourite from 1966 is born again with Bottega Veneta’s signature treatments gracing its leather base
-
We stepped inside the Stedelijk Museum's newest addition in AmsterdamAmsterdam's Stedelijk Museum has unveiled its latest addition, the brand-new Don Quixote Sculpture Hall by Paul Cournet of Rotterdam creative agency Cloud
-
On a sloped Los Angeles site, a cascade of green 'boxes' offers inside outside livingUnStack, a house by FreelandBuck, is a cascading series of bright green volumes, with mountain views
-
Meet Kenia Almaraz Murillo, the artist rethinking weavingKenia Almaraz Murillo draws on the new and the traditional in her exhibition 'Andean Cosmovision' at London's Waddington Custot
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary artAs Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
-
Doc'n Roll Film Festival makes its loud return to the UKThe 11th edition of the Doc'n Roll Film Festival celebrates music, culture and cinema from around the world
-
Preview the Jameel Prize exhibition, coming to London's V&A, with a focus on moving image and digital mediaThe winner of the V&A and Art Jameel’s seventh international award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition will be showcased alongside shortlisted artists
-
Genesis Belanger is seduced by the real and the fake in LondonSculptor Genesis Belanger’s solo show, ‘In the Right Conditions We Are Indistinguishable’, is open at Pace, London
-
Francis Bacon at the National Portrait Gallery is an emotional tour de force‘Francis Bacon: Human Presence’ at the National Portrait Gallery in London puts the spotlight on Bacon's portraiture
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s ParkTwenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
Meet Oluwole Omofemi and Bayo Akande, the founders creating a new art communityOluwole Omofemi and Bayo Akande, are behind Piece Unique, an artist agency that guides and future-proofs emerging artists’ careers
