Avid readers will remember last week’s feature on Human-Nature, a multi-faceted, long term project by Siobhan Davies Dance that - true to its name - explores the various complex relationships between people and plants through a series of exhibitions, talks and events. This week we go even deeper into Human-Nature, as we talk to one of the artists involved.

Daniel Lobb combines sculpture and landscape design to create large-scale installations that blur the lines between the two disciplines. Opening on 15^th May, his contribution to Human-Nature comes in the form of As above, so below, a complex and intriguing two part exhibition that relies on the visitors for sustainability. Humidity produced by humans will be used to feed a colony of plants, but we’ll also be confronted with an edible garden and tasked with maintaining it. Just days before the exhibition opens to the public, Daniel lets Run-Riot in on his process, tells us about inviting weeds in and opens the door to the concept of Wabi-Sabi.

Run-Riot: You originally trained as a sculptor, but then proceeded to get an MA in Garden Design. What led you to leave behind the more ‘classical’ forms of sculpture in favour of landscapes and installations inspired by the environment?

Daniel Lobb: From a really early age my interest in making things and sculpture always ran parallel to my interest in gardens and the wider environment. I grew up on the edge of town, playing in woods and streams, manipulating the natural environment. Even whilst studying sculpture I worked as a gardener for a pub and private individuals. I have found that landscape design links my interests well. I have never felt comfortable in the conventional white walled anti-nature gallery setting. I have always been inspired by the place, and make work that relates to its surroundings.

Run-Riot: The projects in your portfolio require not just artistic thought but also a deep knowledge and understanding of materials and natural processes. How do you approach the science that goes into the art?

Daniel Lobb: I select materials that are appropriate for purpose. The copper used in As above so below for example, has been used for its transformative properties. It will begin shiny, gradually dulling to verdigris. I am also interested in the properties of copper and its interaction with other life processes. The work of Viktor Schauberger has greatly influenced this interest. Right plant right place is a guiding mantra for garden design. For As above so below I researched plants that colonise human structures, that grow out of walls. Due to the nature of being indoors, these plants will be growing in shade and they are all adapted to this condition. Over all, all materials and plants are chosen for a purpose, either conceptually or practically, often both.

Run-Riot: The exhibition you created for Human-Nature is two-part. One of its components uses humidity generated by dancers and visitors to the studio to sustain the plant colonies. Can you tell us more about the ideas behind this cyclical installation? What aspect of the human-nature relationship is on show here? What kind of response do you hope the installation stirs up?

Daniel Lobb: My first response to the brief was to consider the existing plant communities on the site, considering natural processes going on all around the building, rainfall, the colonisation of mosses and lichens on the building surfaces and so on. It’s the first time I have created a garden in an indoor space and this proposition poses obvious challenges for plant health; I first considered the requirements of plants, light, water, nutrients and how these could be met within the building. I was interested in creating an 'interior landscape' rather than a 'garden'. For me, the subtle difference is that one requires constant attention and care where as the other exists whether we are there or not. The requirement for constant water was the biggest challenge. Upon first visiting the building I was struck by the humidity of the space. This is where the idea to collect this humidity via a dehumidifier came from. This in turn creates a direct link, a dependence between the plants and inhabitants of the building: human/ nature.

Run-Riot: The two installations that from As above, so below are fundamentally opposite - one is self-sustainable and will survive on passive human contribution and the other depends on active human engagement. Can you tell us more about the relationship between the two pieces? Is the contrast between the two important?

Daniel Lobb: The contrast is important. As above, so below mimics the wider planetary water cycle within the building. The plant species used are classed by gardeners as ‘weeds’, they are all colonists, opportunists, often found growing in walls and crevices within human-built structures. We usually choose to eradicate these species, though with this piece they have been invited in, representing the wilder aspects of ‘Nature’ that we often fight against. These plants also have an inherent resilience, thriving in shady inhospitable situations. On the other hand the vertical edible garden is entirely made up from cultivated species. These ‘useful’ plants require full sun to thrive, they require watering and tending. They will be prone to insect ‘pests’, in return for care they can be harvested and eaten. Choices will have to be made as they grow, some of the salads will have a fairly short season before they are harvested and replaced. Some will not receive enough water and will either be stunted or will die. The ‘active’ nature of the engagement with this piece mimics the wider culture of allotment gardening and the on-going battle with other animal and plant life that’s required to reap the benefits.

The link between the two works is the water, which can be drawn with copper watering cans from the copper bowl at the terminus of As above, so below. This can be used to irrigate the plants within the vertical edible garden.
Run-Riot: Do you think As above, so below warrants several visits, to witness the inevitable changes?

Daniel Lobb: The piece will certainly change, the copper will change to verdigris, the plants will grow. This evolution is welcomed, nature is never static. Repeat visits will certainly reveal the changing seasons. One of the most pleasurable aspects of having a garden for me is this seasonal transformation. I remember, as a child, an intense joy upon returning from a week-long family holiday to find the garden totally transformed. Particularly during the spring and early summer, now in fact, as the exhibition opens, the plants introduced are generally pretty rampant and I hope that they will colonise the support wires and trail from their vessels as the season unfolds. If a visitor only sees the exhibition once they will hopefully appreciate how life is being sustained within the building. 

Run-Riot: As part of Human-Nature you will also give a one-off guided tour of your exhibition and take part in a talk with Nigel Dunnett. What can visitors expect from these two events?

Daniel Lobb: For the tour I will talk visitors through the rationale for the two pieces. As with all of my work the material choice is very important, ‘truth to materials’ is a phrase I respect, nothing is hidden or disguised, the vessels have been hammered from sheet and have been riveted and soldered to render them waterproof, the evidence of this construction is clear, they have a patina revealing their history. I am interested in the Japanese term ‘Wabi-Sabi’, two separate words, with related but different meanings. ‘Wabi’ is the kind of perfect beauty that is seemingly-paradoxically caused by just the right kind of imperfection, such as an asymmetry in a ceramic bowl, which reflects the handmade craftsmanship, as opposed to the machine-made bowl which though perfect is soulless. ‘Sabi’ is the kind of beauty that can come only with age, such as the patina on a very old bronze statue. All other aspects of the installation reflect this philosophy; the steel brackets have been welded and left self-coloured to develop a patina during the exhibition. Nigel Dunnett’s work looks at how plants can be sustained in the urban setting, often in seemingly in-hospitable conditions. He has devised ‘Pictorial Meadows’ to extend the flowering season for pollinating insects, he also looks at sustainable drainage solutions, all topics I am fascinated by and have referenced within this installation. I look forward to further discussion with Nigel around our place in nature and our response to the wider environment in the built environment.
Run-Riot: It seems you found inspiration for As Above, So Below (at least partly) in the building of Siobhan Davies studios itself; its architecture and interaction with the visitors feature in your work.  What’s the relationship between the outside and the inside? Do you think there’s too strong of an artificial line drawn between enclosed spaces and nature?

Daniel Lobb: My approach to landscape design is to first observe and analyse what’s on the site. I then decide what to keep and ‘feature’ and what to remove. This site-specific way of working ensures continuity between the architecture and wider environment surrounding the garden or space to be designed. I took the same approach here, considering the internal spaces the building creates as potential sites for garden creation.

There is a strong line drawn between inside and out, I feel this is pretty in-grained in our society, for most of our evolution we have been at odds with nature, wishing to keep out the cold and wet, remove decay from our buildings. The idea of ‘nature’ being allowed indoors, I feel would be difficult for most people. When nature does come in, it’s usually in the form of ‘pests’, ‘vermin’, woodworm, mould and mildew, damp. These traces of nature are to be expelled from buildings in our society. Invisible nature is always present, in the materials we use, clay to form bricks, timber from trees, concrete from mined aggregates. Even humans we are only 10% human, the other 90% of us being made up from various other organisms. The air we breathe and that fills our buildings is processed naturally, plants expelling life sustaining oxygen and so on.  

This installation will hopefully flourish in the season allowed for its survival, it will then be removed. The plants will be released back into nature and the interior architecture will again reassert priority. Ironically this destruction again illustrates the immense control we exert within nature. All the materials used are easily and readily recycled, another guiding principal within my work. 

As above, so below

Siobhan Davies Dance

Exhibition dates:15 May–21 September

Artist in Conversation:  30 May, 7pm



Exhibition tour with Daniel Lobb: 17 June, 2pm–3pm