'Hidden Secrets' - an Exhibition of Botanical Art

This exhibition of 2D artwork and jewelry produced by the Friends of Auckland Botanic Gardens Art Group, showcases the beauty of the world of plants. Forty plus artworks by 15 artists, in watercolour, acrylic, oils, graphite, gouache, ink and in silver and copper jewelry will be on show.

When we are among plants, what do we see – the perfect flower of the rose, the towering kauri in the bush or do we notice the small beauties, tiny violas, little daisies or maybe weeds growing at the rose’s foot, the miniature ferns and mosses that surround the kauri trunk, the small, secret plants, or do we pass them by, step on them, blind to their unique beauty?

Do we consider how much of our survival is dependent on plants – providing much of our food, drink, medicines, clothing, books, buildings, cleaning the air we breathe?

Do we appreciate how plants have a huge role in mediating climate change and the damage we have done to the earth - soaking up carbon dioxide, generating oxygen?

Do we look at a seed pod and imagine the secrets hidden inside – new life waiting to be released?

Do we remember the bulbs, hidden underground until the spring rushes them back to life, surprising us?

Are we aware of each plant’s unique features – what it needs for successful growth, how it reproduces, how, or if, it protects itself from predators?

Here we see some of the hidden secrets of plants exposed to our view, opening our eyes, overcoming our blindness to the mysteries and miracles of the plants in our world.

By showcasing the plant world's 'hidden secrets', this exhibition aims to address the problem of 'Plant Blindness' a term coined twenty years ago by two American botanists James Wandersee and Elisabeth Schussle.
Put simply, it is the lack of awareness and appreciation of plants in one’s own environment. Through these artworks, visitors will be encouraged to look at and understand how the plants around us are integral to our survival.