Botanic portrays a group of amateur botanists at South London Botanical Institute.
The Institute occupies a Victorian house in Norwood, South London and is maintained by a group of mainly retired enthusiasts who conserve an existing collection of specimens, a library and garden.
The choreography of gesture and attention to their activity mirrors that of Atlantic a simple portrait of a fruit and vegetable stall in Brixton markets, South London which follows the daily routine of a group of Asian men as they prepare, pack and sell fruit and vegetables.
Both spaces present a particular work ethic in which a lack of urgency, steady absorption in their activity, make do and mend approach and absence of new technology are evident.
Atlantic was made as a partner piece to Botanic, and shown together at FACT as part of the solo exhibition Here and your here in 2007. The works can be shown individually or as a synchronised pair. Botanic was funded by FLAMIN, Film London.