GARDENS OF THE MIND: Collective exhibition, Seine-et-Marne, France

As the pace of life quickens and society becomes absorbed into an unyielding cycle of result-oriented tasks and purpose, our minds become an overwhelming reprise of knowledge and thoughts. When then - as they say - do we stop to smell the flowers? The search for a form of repose undoubtedly becomes a unanimous quest as we look both outward to the physical world and inward into our consciousness.

Here, the garden occupies a paramount position that intertwines both the tangible and intangible as it represents a peaceful sanctuary that we not only experience with our senses but also through our minds. Borrowed from nature, gardens are constructs of the human imagination as personal forms of expression. Our gardens, wherever they may be or whatever form they take shape, evoke a sense of comfort in their familiarity, especially when we lose our way in life.

Gardens of the Mind is an exhibition that presented a series of works by artists who have harnessed and contextualised the symbolic and material aspects of nature and the gardens that rove their minds. Forged beyond the traditional walls of a gallery space and set within the grounds of a private garden on the outskirts of Paris, we welcomed the public to be a part of this beautifully-provoking experience. 

◊  Cély-en-Bière, France