An exhibition catalogue published to coincide with their exhibition of the same name at Kew Gardens from The Singh Twins that presents a body of largely new, richly detailed works inspired by Kew’s collections and the wider story of botany.
The Singh Twins are award-winning, internationally recognized contemporary British artists who draw on the artistic conventions of diverse cultural traditions. Their detailed and vibrant artworks interrogate, among other themes, the wealth which the British Empire amassed from the development of economic botany—hunting, cultivation, and trade in plants including cotton, spices, and dyes—something which botanists from Kew were directly involved in at the time. Their personal and artistic response also reflects on the East India Company and the creation of the Wallich Herbarium, a collection of over 20,000 dried plant specimens and botanical illustrations collected by Nathaniel Wallich between 1817 and 1828, the source of much of Kew’s archive of Indian material.
In this ambitious undertaking, the duality and intertwining of British and Indian cultures sits alongside the dual exploitation of and appreciation for nature. Colonial history, floral symbolism, and the mythologies surrounding plants are explored in new mediums which invite readers to engage in a nuanced dialogue about the intersections of politics, botany, culture, art, and colonial heritage.
Featuring an introduction to the Singh Twins by bestselling author Janina Ramirez, this retrospective artistic exploration is profoundly pertinent today, offering a unique perspective on themes with contemporary relevance: identity, trade politics, and the serious environmental problems facing the modern world.