JARDINS PUBLICS
Katrina Brown Curator
Katie Nicoll Producer
Artists
Michael Lin
Apolonija Sustersic
Richard Wright
Jardins Publics is an exhibition of specially commissioned works by internationally renowned visual artists. Situated around the centre of the city it invites us to consider the garden as an essentially social rather than natural space – a cultivated, created, man-made environment. With diverse references from Voltaire, through Patrick Geddes to Ian Hamilton Finlay, the exhibition takes its inspiration from the specific characteristics of Edinburgh. The city was home to Patrick Geddes, father of modern town planning and advocate of the value of the garden, who believed ‘By leaves we live.’
‘We must cultivate our garden’ THE CLOSING WORDS OF VOLTAIRE’S CANDIDE (1758)
‘Certain gardens are described as retreats when they are really attacks’ IAN HAMILTON FINLAY (1925 – 2006)
Three major artists explore the question of a public garden. The resultant works, whether actual gardens or evocations thereof, will be sites for the contemplation of ‘nature’, a place in which to spend some time.
Locations of JARDINS PUBLICS art works:
Download Jardins Publics Map
Michael Lin - East Princes Street Gardens
Tokyo-born artist Michael Lin is internationally known for his spectacular site-specific painted walls and floors that reproduce the vivid floral motifs of Taiwanese textiles on a vast scale For JARDINS PUBLICS, he is creating a large, specially-designed structure for East Princes Street Gardens.
Enveloped in his trademark, lusciously coloured, floral designs, the structure will inject colour into the heart of the city, making a stunning backdrop for meeting, talking or just hanging out.
Apolonija Sustersic - Chessel’s Court, off Canongate, Royal Mile
Working with architect Meike Schalk and the residents of one of Edinburgh’s historic closes, Apolonija Sustersic has designed garden furniture and equipment to breathe new life into a communal space.
Sustersic, who originally trained as an architect, specialises in the creation of places in which people can come together and exchange ideas. In Edinburgh she will be following in the footsteps of Patrick Geddes, who passionately believed in the positive effect of gardens on people’s lives.
Richard Wright - 26 London Street & St. George’s Well, Water of Leith
Glasgow based artist Richard Wright, one the UK’s most respected and sought-after artists, often paints directly onto the walls, ceilings or windows of the spaces in which he is invited to exhibit with his work only lasting as long as the exhibition.
For JARDINS PUBLICS Wright, who studied at Edinburgh College of Art, will work in a tiny structure on the banks of the Water of Leith and a grand private apartment in the heart of the New Town.
In each, Wright will work specifically in response to these diverse locations, creating unique new spaces for the viewer to linger in in the heart of Edinburgh.
In addition to the main exhibition there is the rare opportunity for the public to see the mosaic-covered interior of St Bernard’s Well, a beautiful little temple-like building on the Water of Leith, designed by Alexander Nasmyth in 1789. St Bernard’s Well opens on Saturdays and Sundays from 11.00am – 3.00pm during Jardins Publics.
Additional info:
A leaflet detailing the locations of the works, including a map to show the easy city centre walking route linking them, will be available from beginning of August. Call the box office on 0131 473 2000 or sign up for our e-newsletter and we'll keep you up to date.
