It’s as if the garden visitor is in Alice’s Wonderland and has imbibed the bottle labeled “Drink me.”
The enormous flowers that make up Bethany Allen’s “Four Friends” at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden are oversized versions of four Richmond native plants—elderberry, serviceberry, swamp milkweed and sochan—with each surrounded by live versions of the flower. Allen has crafted the large-scale fabric flowers as a reminder of their value as sources of food and medicine for humans.
Lewis Ginter’s newest exhibit, “Homes & Habitats,” invites visitors to experience nature through the talents of nine artists whose large-scale installations invite interaction, conversation and offer education, with a decided dose of whimsy.
“The artists’ approach to inviting visitors to feel at home is part of our commitment to providing an inclusive and positive experience,” says Michelle Israel, Lewis Ginter’s director of exhibitions.
Local artist Matt Lively’s installation “Interwoven Ecosystems” was created with interdisciplinary artist Tim Harper and provides ever-changing perspectives on the little house on Sydnor Lake. Lively had been working with an anamorphic house image for several years, moving it from two dimensional to three dimensional as he gained knowledge.
His first three-dimensional rendition was made during the COVID lockdown when his family had all been voluntarily sequestered in one house.
“The squeezing in of the walls seemed appropriate for the feeling of the time,” Lively says. “The house image is easy to understand, familiar. But when altered, the image becomes challenging for a viewer to reassemble correctly.”
While he had the homes part of the theme figured out, Lively needed assistance with the habitat portion. Harper came up with the floating wetland island on which the house would sit.
“The plants create a place for microbes and fish to live, as well as getting rid of the unwanted lake bio-matter by feeding on it,” Lively explains. “The plants will grow in and around the house.”
“The Barefoot Circle,” a colorful circular rock garden, was created by Alfonso Pérez Acosta to offer a moment to reconnect with nature. Visitors are welcome to shed their shoes and socks and walk on the circle, which results in a playful yet therapeutic experience much like reflexology. “I’m inspired by rocks,” Acosta says. “I love working with them, for their textures, sizes and colors. There are lots of possibilities.”
Conveniently, a nearby bench provides a place to remove shoes for those who accept the circle’s invitation. A visitor doesn’t hesitate to try it out, stepping out smiling to share her experience. “It does make you feel in touch with nature and it’s a good exercise for balance,” she announces, then pauses. “I’m glad I did it.”
Israel says the most surprising aspect of the exhibit is how engaging and interactive it is.
“It encourages participation, making the experience feel personal and dynamic,” she says. “Whether through hands-on activities, interactive displays, or opportunities for reflection, the exhibit goes beyond traditional passive observation.”
Artist Heather Beardsley put a microphone inside a beehive for “Conversation with Bees,” to allow visitors to talk to the native bees in nearby bee hotels. Her goal was to push back on the tendency for humans to see themselves as separate from the larger ecosystem.
“My goal is for people to interact with the sculpture by speaking to the gestating bees through the microphone,” she says. “Maybe they’ll think more about not only how dependent we are on insects like native bees to pollinate our food and plants, but how our choices impact them.”
She first learned of the tradition of ‘telling the bees’ while researching history, folklore and mythology about bees as part of her initial bee hotel project.
“I thought that direct acknowledgment from humans of what honeybees were contributing to their lives was really beautiful,” she says. “It’s not something we as humans often do.”
Beneath a treehouse sits Aleyah Grimes’ “Love Nest,” a cozy depiction of two mated-for-life egrets fast asleep and snoring. Although not a sculptor by practice, Grimes wanted to challenge herself to work with new materials while creating a functioning work of art.
“I also wanted my work to be in the children’s garden, both for its interactive elements and also the inherent silliness of these big sleeping birds,” she says. “Paper mâché is a very elementary level medium. I wanted it to be kid-friendly and approachable, but also large and well constructed.”
Her biggest inspiration was what it means to feel at home. By equating a couch to a nest, she also wanted the birds to stand in for an old married couple passed out on the couch after a long day.
“Adding the snores made the work more playful and relatable,” she says. “The sound not only gives the public a way to interact with the birds without invading their space, it also highlights the similarities in partnerships between humans and animals and what it means to exist in a shared space.”
When looking for more than traditional passive observation, “Homes & Habitats” provides over a dozen thought-provoking installations with which you can share space.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s “Homes & Habitats” runs through Sept. 28 at 1800 Lakeside Ave., visit lewisginter.org for more information.
