Explore Renaissance Art to Underground Fungus at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower
Show
A fusion of art and horticulture
will be unveiled at Hampton Court Palace this July, with a record number of provocative
new designs in the Conceptual Gardens category. Renowned for challenging traditional
thinking, visitors can explore the forefront of conceptual garden design this summer.
The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show has a strong reputation for pushing the boundaries
of contemporary garden design and this year’s nine Conceptual Gardens are no exception.
From fungus to the internet, each garden will engage the curious and showcase a
unique approach to horticulture. Hoping to stimulate both mind and body, shortlisted
designs tackle themes as wide-reaching as cancer, the human thought process, and
life in a technologically connected world.
2011 CONCEPTUAL GARDENS:
Excuse Me Whilst I Kiss the Sky, designed by Bestique
First time RHS designer, Anoushka Feiler, invites the visitor to step inside an
inverted space and view the world from a different perspective. Taking cues from
Classical and Renaissance periods, ‘Excuse Me Whilst I Kiss the Sky’ is a sculptural
garden that hopes to inspire, provoke and celebrate expansive thought, particularly
in contemporary horticulture.
Visitors approaching the garden will be drawn skywards, where Boskke Sky Planters
create an incredible ceiling tapestry of flora. Underneath, a luminous sapphire
blue resin will overlay the ground, embedded with fibre optic lighting as a means
of reflecting the light above. A mirrored surround will encompass the plot at a
45 degree angle, encouraging viewers to expand their horizons and embrace liberal
contemplation.
Anoushka Feiler
Founder of boutique styling company, Bestique, Anoushka Feiler trained at the world
renowned KLC School of Design, graduating with a Professional Diploma in Garden
Design & Horticulture in 2010. Having won the Great Dixter Award for Planting
Design, Anoushka has since taken on a number of design projects for Bestique and
currently works part time with garden design stalwart, Ann-Marie Powell. This is
Anoushka’s first garden with the RHS and her aim is to encapsulate a space that
is both sophisticated and refined, yet quite out of the ordinary..
Landscape Obscured, designed by Dan Lobb
Often overlooked by many, fungus is one of the longest living communities in the
world. Hoping to bring attention to this vital plant group and present the first
ever fungus garden at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, is professional sculptor,
Dan Lobb.
To the untrained eye, ‘Landscape Obscured’ appears an open expanse of grass; upon
closer inspection and through the help of structured periscopes, an entire underground
environment is revealed. Transporting the viewer to an almost fairytale-like world,
a unique forest landscape beneath the surface will display a wide variety of fungus,
moss and liverworts. Specially grown for the show by Fundamentally Fungus, visitors
will have the opportunity to engage with the organism at all levels, as each stem
will be cooked and eaten on the last day of the show.
Dan Lobb
Having studied for a BA (hons) in Fine Art Sculpture at Winchester School of Art
in 1998, Dan has an extensive background in working with sculptural installations;
from his own caravan based installation ‘The Grange’ to set designs and construction
across a range of theatres and museums. Going on to complete an MA in Landscape
and Garden Design at the Oxford College of Garden Design/Inchbold School of Design
in 2007, Dan has since both designed and built gardens for private clients. Currently
a part time teacher at the Arts University College, Bournemouth, Dan also works
closely with The House of Fairy Tales; an artist lead group aiming to promote creativity
and learning through play.
CoppaFeel!, designed by Hugo Bugg
Joining forces with Hugo Bugg, RHS Young Designer of the Year 2010, is CoppaFeel!;
a breast charity founded in April 2009 by the inspirational Kristin Hallenga, who
at the age of 25, and following two misdiagnoses, is living with stage four breast
cancer.
The message behind the CoppaFeel! Garden is simple; to provoke thought, change attitudes
and heighten awareness, particularly among young women.
Hugo has created an eye-catching design to reflect CoppaFeel’s core qualities; ambitious,
proactive, positive and bold. Whilst being able to view the garden from three sides,
there will also be the opportunity for visitors to explore and engage directly with
CoppaFeel’s highly interactive creation.
Hugo Bugg
After graduating with a First Class Honours Degree in Garden Design, Hugo went on
to found his own garden design company, Hugo Bugg Landscapes, in 2008. Having exhibited
for the first time at Tatton Park last year, Hugo not only won Gold in the ‘Best
Show Garden’ category, but also the prestigious RHS Young Designer of the Year award.
Following his huge success last summer, Hugo exhibited at the RHS London Plant and
Design Show in February 2011 and was presented with the Silver-Gilt medal for his
contemporary Roof Garden.
My Life in the Cloud, designed by Medlar & Cob
Taking inspiration from his background in law at Google, designer Nigel Jones invites
the visitor to reconcile the natural world with their fast-paced technologically-dominated
lives.
The central feature to ‘My Life in the Cloud’ consists of a three cubic metre, partially
transparent box; partly obscured by a Mountain Ash trees, this appears to float
amongst a combination of altitude tolerant plants. Natural stone steps on one side
of the garden allow visitors a closer view of the sealed box, which upon closer
inspection, reveals personal information; from photographs to medical records, all
belonging to Nigel. By openly presenting these documents yet restricting observation,
Nigel aims to convey the balance between accessibility and openness and keeping
personal information private.
Nigel Jones, Medlar & Cob
Giving up his lucrative job as a Lawyer at Google, Nigel began his career in Garden
Design by studying a RHS course in horticulture at his local adult education college
in South-East London. After obtaining his RHS Level 2 qualification in 2008, Nigel
went to enrol at The Inchbald School of Design, graduating with a diploma in Garden
Design in 2009. After working as a junior designer with the landscape architecture
practice of Del Buono Gazerwitz, Nigel left to concentrate full-time on his own
business, Medlar & Cob Landscape and Garden Design. ‘My Life in the Cloud’ will
be Nigel’s first garden at an RHS show.
Picturesque, designed by Melissa Jolly
With the aim of crossing boundaries between contemporary art and horticulture, Melissa
Jolly is set to create a pop up gallery within the grounds of Hampton Court this
summer.
The garden will consist of four walled sides, with rectangular frames cut from each.
Careful arrangements of plants will be seen through these windows, taking the place
of more traditional works of art. By presenting the shrubbery in the context of
a gallery space, Melissa hopes to draw attention to their visual aesthetics, encouraging
viewers to consider garden design as its own form of contemporary art.
From Mondrian to Monet; Goldsworthy to Long, natural landscapes have long had an
influence upon artistic practice. Stepping inside ‘Picturesque’ allows visitors
to reflect upon this relationship and perhaps appreciate horticulture at a more
conceptual level.
Melissa Jolly
Melissa is a freelance Garden Designer, who graduated with a first class Diploma
in Residential Landscape Architecture from the Oxford College of Garden Design in
October 2009. Melissa has since gone on to win the NS&I Growing Gardens Today
Competition at BBC Gardener’s World Live in 2010. Most recently, Melissa featured
in the RHS London Plant and Design Show in February 2011, where her Roof Terrace
Show Garden was awarded the Silver-Gilt medal. Currently based in Henley-on-Thames,
Melissa hopes to push the boundaries of what is achievable in an outside space.
The Bright Idea, designed by Tom Harfleet
‘The Bright Idea’ aims to symbolise a physical embodiment of the human thought process
as it occurs in the brain. Sourcing the garden’s structure from the brainwaves of
a dreaming subject, a fine mesh tube inserted with LEDs will run throughout the
space.
Pulsing along the length of the structure, the electronic lights are set to embody
the brain activity found within us all.
With the surrounding planting consisting of a single species of grass, each movement
amongst the slightest breeze will be captured; a concept hoped to represent brain
matter. At each point where the ‘brainwaves’ strike the ground, the grass will be
interspersed with vivid pools of brightly coloured flowers, almost as if to convey
the overflow of ideas.
Tom Harfleet
Tom Harfleet is a Guildford-based garden designer and recent graduate of Merrist
Wood College, where he studied garden design and landscape construction. ‘The Bright
Idea’ will be Tom’s second major professional outing, after his collaboration with
bother Paul on ‘The Pansy Project’ at Hampton Court last year, won gold in the Conceptual
Garden category.
Think! Cover Up, designed by Nicola Greaves, Camilla Moreton & Andrew Cook at
the University of Falmouth
The first of two teams of students from Falmouth University, will present a garden
to raise awareness of skin cancer; a condition that is increasing rapidly across
the UK, particularly amongst young adults aged 15-35.
With the idea conceived from a combination of personal experience of melanoma and
also the location of University College Falmouth in Cornwall, where spending time
in the Sun is a regular pastime, ‘Think! Cover Up,’ aims to draw attention to simple
ways of reducing this risk.
Although many plants have adapted to cope with UV radiation, humans have not, making
skin protection a key consideration. Working within a circular space, ‘Think! Cover
Up,’ hopes to demonstrate this contrast through an exposed gravel garden; where
sun loving plants thrive and human figures take cover in the shade provided by trees.
Hands On, designed by Sam Ovens & Oliver Ramsay at the University of Falmouth
In a busy world full of daily stresses and strains, releasing pent up emotion can
be essential. A team of students from the University of Falmouth hope to provide
that opportunity, presenting visitors with a refuge from modern day life.
The garden will consist of a wooden box, swathed in wild flowers, scattered with
red field poppies and enveloped by five silver birch trees. With a towering border,
the aim is to create a sense of seclusion and privacy, affording viewers a safe
place to stop, reflect and perhaps get something off their chest. Wrapped around
the central cube will be a large red clay strip, which visitors will be encouraged
to interact with, leaving their own impression upon the material.. This action of
moulding the clay and leaving something tangible behind aims to not only be personally
satisfying, but will also contribute to a continually evolving piece of sculpture.
Enduring Freedom? designed by Nete Hojlund and Corinne Sharp
‘Enduring Freedom?’ is a conceptual installation, aimed at inspiring visitors to
reflect upon diversity of cultural values, ethics, morality and ultimately the price
that is paid to defend these.
Designers Nete Hojlund and Corinne Sharp have rooted their concept in the conflict
in Afghanistan, in which thousands of young soldiers will leave relatively secure
compounds to go on foot patrol in often very hostile environments. An increasing
number of the soldiers become casualties during these patrols, in a conflict where
the purpose seems to be confused and the enemy remains elusive.
Throughout the space, visitors will be confronted by the rising number of soldiers
sacrificing their lives, being made aware of the daily mental challenge that each
are faced with. As a result, ‘Enduring Freedom?’ hopes to inspire visitors to form
an opinion on the wider aspects of this conflict; from reasons and justification
to alternatives to war.
The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (5-10 July 2011)
4 July, Press Day
5-6 July, RHS Privilege Days
7-10 July, public days
Venue: Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey
Tickets: 0844 338 7528 or www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt
RHS show information: 020 7649 1885 or www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt
Ticket prices range from £14.50 to £32.50 and are on sale now.
4 July – Press Day
5 – 10 July, Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, KT8 9AT
Tickets from £14.50 - £32.50. Children under 16 free with an accompanying adult
To buy tickets: www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt 0844 338 7528