Written by Annette Townsend (Interdisciplinary Natural History Artist) & Sally Whyman (Curator: Botany Curator, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales).

Plants growing on the wall of a London art gallery!! On closer inspection you discover they are alien plants, introduced to the UK. Looking even closer you realise they are delicate sculptures, handmade from beeswax, paraffin wax, tinned copper wire, tissue paper, cotton thread, artists’ pigments, acrylic paint and acrylic varnish.

Mounted on stainless steel plates with stainless steel strips, and epoxy printed collector labels, in a juxtaposition of historic and modern materials and techniques, each sculpture mimics a real herbarium sheet, found in the Welsh National Herbarium, Amgueddfa Cymru.   

The brainchild of Annette Marie Townsend and Sally Whyman who wanted to combine the skill, vision and dexterity of the artist with the depth of collection knowledge of the curator, allowing the plants to come to life and escape the confining folders and cabinets of the herbarium. This Aliens series allows the plants tell their stories of biodiversity change and invasive species to new audiences, further afield than museum visitors and botanical researchers.    

Annette and Sally are no strangers to working together, having previously spent many years as colleagues at Amgueddfa Cymru when Annette was employed as a scientific artist and Natural Science Conservator. It was at the museum whilst caring for the historic collection of over 1,000 botanical models that she learnt the skills to sculpt plants from wax; techniques which were at the height of fashion when many UK museums were founded. Now she uses these historic techniques in an innovative, contemporary way, on this occasion sculpting the Aliens artworks from beeswax Sally collected from beehives on the museum roof.   

The project was conducted when Covid restrictions were still in place and visitors were unable to physically access the herbarium. Rather than being a hindrance, this created new opportunities and pathways for working. Sally was able to provide digital access to the collections by scanning the specimens, ultimately changing the look of the completed artworks which not only show the original handwritten herbarium labels but also the scale bars, colour charts and copyright declaration from the scans.            

Amgueddfa Cymru has a new strategy which includes a commitment to protect and safeguard our natural environment. To do this we need to show the value of our collections and engage with different audiences. ArtSci projects such as this are collaborative and not solely a source of inspiration for the artist. Museum herbarium sheets, although well known to natural history curators, are not generally recognisable to a non-specialist audience who may not be aware of the scientific importance of these pressed plant specimens. A vital part of this art installation is the labels. The captions reveal that these particular specimens were collected for scientific research by Amgueddfa Cymru and shows that Wales was the first nation to barcode its native flowering plants. and that favourite plants we recognise from our garden are in fact identified as invasive species. Gallery-goers can see the level of detail on each herbarium label, crucial to that sheet and the scientific value and without which the specimen would be obsolete.    

To date the Aliens series have been represented by Ruup & Form in ‘Memories Live Here’ at the Collect International Art Fair for Contemporary Craft and Design 2022, Somerset House, London, and featured in the January/February 2022 issue of Crafts magazine in ‘Global Gathering’ by Isobella Smith. Aliens 1956 and Aliens 1992 were also selected by gallery director Cynthia Corbett and curator Daisy McMullan for display in ‘The Young Masters Autumn Exhibition’ from October 2022 to January 2023, at the Exhibitionist and Gainsborough Hotels, South Kensington, London.

The finished artworks and corresponding Amgueddfa Cymru herbarium sheet:

Aliens 1956

Based on the digitally scanned image of a Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea) specimen (954.6.27), collected in the glasshouse at Amgueddfa Cymru, by Departmental Attendant, J. W. Davies.  

P. caerulea is a perennial climber native to South America, deliberately introduced to many parts of the world as an attractive cultivated garden plant with its attractively constructed flowers. This climber with tendrils is often planted by walls and fences where it persists even when neglected.   

Dimensions – 26cm x 41.5cm    

Date – 2021.  

Aliens 1992

Based on the digitally scanned image of a Common Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum) specimen (V92.49.4), collected in Margam Country Park, Swansea by botanical photographer, Peter Russell and Senior Curatorial Assistant, Anthony D. Tipper.  

R. ponticum is native to countries in the western and eastern Mediterranean such as Spain, Portugal and Turkey and eastwards through Asia into China. Introduced to Britain in 1763 as an ornamental shrub, subsequently becoming popular on country estates in Victorian times.  

R. ponticum produces root suckers and an abundance of seeds, enabling it to out compete native plants. It is now listed as an invasive species under schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.   

Dimensions – 26cm x 41.5cm    

Date – 2021.   

Aliens 1957

Based on the digitally scanned image of an Argentine Vervain (Verbena bonariensis) specimen (57.274.31), collected in Ely, Cardiff by plant enthusiast, Royston Leslie Smith. Smith was interested in recording plants that had hitchhiked their way into Wales via ships. Many of his specimens were found near the docks at Cardiff, Newport and Barry, growing as a result of dumped ballast or as contaminants of raw wool imports.  

Native to South America, V. bonariensis is a popular garden plant growing to 1.5 metres tall with purple flowers which butterflies love. This specimen was included in the DNA barcoding non-native UK plants project, following on from Wales becoming the first nation to barcode its native flowering plants and conifers. Amgueddfa Cymru supplied 3,637 of the 4,272 specimens needed for this important project. This specimen was sampled for the follow-up non-native UK plants project. 

Dimensions – 26cm x 41.5cm    

Date – 2021