NEW STRAINS
2003 

New Strains was our first collaborative work. We wanted to exhibit together but were unable to find a gallery space that appealed to us. We came up with the idea of making work in a non-gallery space and this was the result.

New Strains was a temporary site-specific installation using natural light, clear acrylic panels, text and nylon line. It was designed for the Victorian greenhouse at Lauriston Castle in Edinburgh, and subsequently adapted for exhibition in greenhouses in St Andrews and Melrose in the summer of 2003.

The acrylic panels were finely engraved with the Latin names of plants, which in English double as girls’ names. They were suspended on nylon line from the roof of the greenhouse and were in constant gentle motion from the movement of the air. The polished edges of the panels, and the text on them, cast constantly changing reflections and shadows across the floor.

The work inside the greenhouses was complimented by a subtle flower planting in shades of white and silvery-green in the surrounding beds. The plants selected were fragrant ones, and the windows of the greenhouse were left open to allow the scent of the flowers to penetrate the space.

In 2010 we installed New Strains in the greenhouse at Duff House Public Gardens in Banff, as part of Coast Festival.

Lauriston Castle greenhouse

The modern greenhouse in St Andrews Botanic Garden

Tiled floor in the Melrose greenhouse

Panels suspended around statue in Melrose

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