As the year shifts from summer into autumn and the landscape comes alive with its fiery hues, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew will celebrate this inspiring season with both a brand new festival and stunning exhibition showcasing the transient and reflective beauty of nature and our connection with the natural world.

Sixteen diverse and organic works of art by four different artists will be dotted around the wilder parts of Kew’s Arboretum, sitting amongst some of its spectacular heritage trees and wide-reaching vistas. These incredible pieces of environmental art will be site-specific, responding to Kew’s changing environment and made entirely from natural materials. As visitors weave between these beautiful works, from the calm waves of Nigel Ross’ organic, wooden seating sculptures, to the curling, abstract forms of Julia Clarke’s pieces, they will revel in the magical beauty of autumn at Kew, as they in turn are inspired to create their own works of art during various festival workshops.

This celebration of nature as a sculptural form will continue with a spectacular new exhibition in The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art (7 October 2017 – 11 March 2018), including a vast, interactive installation by the British artist Rebecca Louise Law. Inspired by the ancient Egyptian preserved funeral garlands of Ramesses II in Kew’s own collection, dated to 1300BC, Law will suspend 1000 individually sewn hanging garlands, composed of approximately 375,000 beautifully preserved plants and flowers. This hypnotic and immersive mass will enclose natural pathways, allowing visitors to weave their way through, completely surrounded and able to observe nature without the usual constraints of time or decay. Accompanying Law’s mesmerising sculpture will be a rare public display of Kew’s fragile and beautiful ancient Egyptian wreaths, which, draped over mummies and coffins, accompanied the dead to the afterlife.

A true labour of love, Law’s exhibition – Life in Death – will give a new lease of life to her past personal collections of dried plants, some over ten years old, as well freshly preserved flowers, all of which celebrate the sculptural quality and lasting nature of these incredible blooms. As Law says, “Preserving, treasuring and celebrating the beauty of the Earth is what drives me.”

Gina Koutsika, head of visitor programmes, events and exhibitions at RBG Kew said: “I am really delighted that Kew will be transformed into a treasure trove of outstanding art works this autumn. The Gardens are such an inspiring place during this captivating season, but when you add in 16 brand new works of art and our gallery bursting with colour and talent, it creates an unmissable experience. I cannot wait to share with our visitors and friends such an immersive and interactive side of Kew.”

Rebecca Louise Law said: “I am honoured to be creating an installation that takes its inspiration from The Shirley Sherwood Collection, Herbarium and Economic Botany Collection, showcasing the wonder of the flower and it’s material properties. This artwork ’Life in Death’ will allow the viewer to interact with nature without the constraints of time by delaying decay and extending the flowers material value. Every flower will be dried, preserved and entwined with suspended copper wire creating a physical journey through flowers beyond fresh and preserving life within death.”

Image credit: RBG Kew