Samantha Stephenson

Rose Garden

23 October – 17 November

While my hands are busy, my mind is free. I look to the full foliage summer produces and the sparsity winter brings and try to follow its lead. I look to the aphids and black spots which permeate those very leaves I have been carefully pruning and watching, as the buds continue to mature and bear lavish colours the insects delight in as they hover and zip past. It is within a garden we find ourselves not only caring for that which is living but appreciating its transience and finding hope in its future.

Afternoons in the fading light of day, hands safely in gloves, I find myself amongst a sea of roses. Thinking so much and so little simultaneously. These green spaces capable of provoking wonder and awe and discontent and sadness, have not been in such close focus as they been over the past couple of years.

Spending more time within our domestic spaces has demanded more of our care and attention. Whether it be our own garden or that of a shared space, we have found more safety in these outdoor places in recent times. These sculptures find their voice amongst the thorns. The layering, furling, and unravelling nature of a single rose is stirring, and the experience of being within nature’s classroom endlessly enriching.