Jane Edden | Hunter Gatherer

Jane Edden Hunter gatherer

Jane Edden 2009 Hunter gatherer A few years ago I came across some empty boxes in an antique

was at its inception for enriching our understanding of

dealers that had once belonged to the Economic Botany

humankind’s relationship with plants.

Collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Although empty, the labels on the boxes told of the curious objects and plants

Some objects within the Economic Botany Collection have

that they had once held. The contents had been collected

an intrinsic value, but for many their value comes from their

approximately a century ago, and ranged from familiar things

categorisation, their role as parts within the whole. Reflecting this

and plants to many totally unknown to me.

ethos, I have formed miniature collections – groups of selected boxes – collated obeying my own set of rules: primarily, but

The labels demonstrate the countless ways humans have

not always, by object or use. The Collection at Kew is arranged

employed plants, revealing a tiny section of our historical

according to the categories of family, genus and species. To

dependence,

and

me it seems ironic that it is this strict taxonomic structure that

framework for (hi)stories still to come. The objects and plant-

gives the Collection its fantastical quality. Seemingly unrelated

life they describe were collected in an epoch very different from

objects sit side-by-side; a bicycle is filed under ‘wood’ because it

now, when they were considered rare, unusual curiosities from

has wheels made of hickory; hot water bottles reside with dental

exotic places. The Victorian era was a time of great leaps forward

plates and lumps of dried latex, all the products of the same

in our ways of thinking and studying, particularly in relation

‘rubber’ tree. Even with instruction and information about this

to he natural world. Colonialism and the presiding western

detailed taxonomy, travelling through the Collection can feel more

dominance of the time may now seem unpalatable in our

like experiencing a Borgesian odyssey than a scientific store.

whilst

also

providing

the

provocation

contemporary cultures, but we can still hold in high regard the Victorian trend for fervent questioning, which resulted in sea

The decision to represent the missing contents of the boxes with

changes in our ways of looking at the world. It was this climate of

an impression came with a realisation that the original boxes

curiosity that led to the establishment of the Economic Botany

must remain ‘empty’ in spirit. Inspired by the labels, I wanted

Collection in 1847, an archive that is as important today as it

to interpret their descriptions but also to maintain a sense of

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absence; to capture within the boxes the combined sense of

named on these boxes, I didn’t need to travel anywhere exotic,

discovery and loss I felt on reclaiming them as repositories of

living as I do in a world surrounded by a surfeit of goods and

meaning. I also wanted to present something of the world I live

products. Items amassed as I researched the labels, and the

in now, carrying forward the spirit of investigation and enquiry

information that I accumulated formed an additional collection.

that is the driving force behind the Collection.

Facts that, like the contents of the Economic Botany Collection,

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were so varied and wide-ranging that I felt they needed to be My choice of material – fine white plaster – allowed me to cast

classified, verified and ordered in some way.

delicate inverse forms, impressions that I polished back to lie in a paper smooth surface. The forms produced in this process

I have filed this new collection in boxes, which has acted in many

allude to the absent-presence of objects left on a sandy shore,

respects to bring the project full circle. For each set of reclaimed

washed over by the tide of centuries. The age of the boxes is

boxes with casts, there is a new box containing the objects

betrayed by their condition. Bubbles and imperfections punctuate

used to cast the impressions, or acquired for this purpose then

the glass, which varies slightly in hue; the paper that covers

deemed unsuitable. The facts, units of text, are pasted into the

the boxes has, in some areas, had to be replaced. I have used

lids for safekeeping. These new reference boxes are built on

archival materials to carry out these restorations, believing the

centuries-old foundations with the same footprint and system of

original fabric of the boxes to be integral to their capacity for

tessellation as the original boxes.

future storytelling.

These reference works will be displayed alongside my casts, When I started collecting items to cast, I found myself standing

in a cabinet once used to house part of the original Collection,

in charity shops assessing objects in terms of their volume,

kindly lent to me by Kew. Exhibited in this way, the relationship

wondering whether they would release easily from the grip of

between old and new falls into cyclical accord, a symmetry that

plaster, and how they would look in negative. My criteria: to

seems appropriate in the year that the Royal Botanic Gardens,

find everything I needed within my locale. Unlike the collectors

Kew, celebrates its 250th anniversary.

As well as using combs to untangle and smooth hair, women often use

occasions in areas of Spain and South America. Peinete are often worn

combs to fix their hair into various styles and as a means of decoration.

in conjunction with a lace veil, a fashion made popular by Isabella II of

The largest form of decorative comb is called a mantilla or peineta comb.

Spain (1830 – 1904) who was partial to fine lace. Due to her success at

The peineta are worn for visual impact, cresting over the top of the head

trendsetting, this form of mantilla and comb became an established part

and hair to produce a dramatic effect. Popular at various times in history

of traditional Spanish costume over the course of the 19th century.

throughout Europe, these combs are now generally only worn on special

Men’s and Women’s Combs 2009, Plaster casts in 2 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 35.5 x 3 cm overall

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Mark Nesbitt The Economic Botany Collection ...all kinds of useful and curious Vegetable Products... such a

fascination of plants to a wider public. By 1853 the crowd of

collection would render great service, not only to the scientific

visitors in the Museum was such that it was frequently impossible

botanist, but to the merchant, the manufacturer, the physician,

to enter the building.

the chemist, the druggist, the dyer, the carpenter and cabinet maker, and artisans of every description, who might here find the

These dual aims ensured that the Museum contained far more

raw material (and, to a certain extent, also the manufactured or

than economic botany in its strict nineteenth century definition:

prepared article) employed in their several professions, correctly

plants ‘studied from a practical, material, commercial, or

named, and accompanied by some account of its origin, history,

utilitarian standpoint’. By the 1930s the Museum’s collection

native country, etc., either attached to the specimens or recorded

had swelled to fill four buildings, including Sir William Chamber’s

in a popular catalogue.

magnificent Orangery, used to house tropical woods and a Haida totem pole.

In 1853 the founding director of modern Kew, Sir William Hooker, set out this manifesto for his Museum of Economic

By the 1980s the buildings were needed for other purposes –

Botany, opened six years earlier in a former fruit store at the

the original converted fruit store is now home to Kew’s School

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

of Horticulture – and it was decided that the collections would be best housed in a purpose-built research store. The 70,000

When Sir William took over at Kew, he saw that working with

specimens were moved onto compactor shelving in the Sir Joseph

useful plants would demonstrate the utility of the Gardens

Banks Building, and the museum collection was renamed as the

to Britain and the burgeoning British Empire. The Museum

Economic Botany Collection. In the original museum buildings

was both to influence industry in favour of what we would

most specimens were exhibited in glass jars or glass-topped

now call biomaterials, and to convey the importance and

boxes. During the move most specimens were transferred to

Museum No. 2 c. 1900 © The Trustees of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

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archival boxes or air-tight jars. It is at this point that, after being

of 1886, manufacturers eager to see their wares displayed

offered to other museums, a selection of empty containers was

at Kew, and members of the public, with donations ranging

sold to an architectural salvage company.

from mummy wheat from ancient Egypt to a lacebark bonnet

B A C C O

from Jamaica.

The boxes bought by Jane demonstrate the extraordinary breadth of the Kew collections. Unlike many Victorian museums, the

In its new home the Economic Botany Collection now numbers

Museum of Economic Botany was not structured around notions

some 90,000 specimens, and continues to grow by 800 specimens

of primitive and advanced human societies. Recently developed

each year. These reflect Kew’s current work: for example recent

materials, such as vulcanised rubber, were displayed alongside

accessions include over 3000 herbs used in Traditional Chinese

indigenous artefacts. There was a strong emphasis on everyday

Medicine, wood samples from the threatened forests of Brazil,

life: what appears ‘curious’ to the artist is often rooted in the

and a large collection of artefacts collected by staff working on

deep knowledge of plant uses found in all indigenous cultures.

the Flora of Ethiopia. The Collection also receives many donations:

For example, the toothsticks used instead of toothbrushes

recent examples (out of many) include Fairtrade chocolate, loft

are invariably made from woods known to have anti-bacterial

insulation made of hemp and flax, and dishcloths and textile

properties. A broad view was taken of everyday life, leading to

made from bamboo fibres. Changes in the world are reflected in

world-class collections of Japanese paper and lacquer, alongside

Kew’s science, and thus in the Collection.

deep holdings of materia medica, textiles, baskets, foods, fruits and seeds, dyes, resins, stimulants, spices, botanical jewellery,

By virtue of its age, the Economic Botany Collection is now both

musical instruments (among much else) – truly demonstrating

a working scientific collection, and a historic museum collection

that all aspects of life depend on plants.

of great cultural significance. Today’s users of the Collection include botanists and biochemists, anthropologists, historians

Sir William Hooker, Director from 1841 to 1865, and his son

of science, medicine, empire and design, conservators and

Sir Joseph (Director, 1865-1885) drew on the full range

materials scientists and, of course, artists. The Collection

Almost as soon as tobacco was introduced, there were movements to ban

to secure for the State money generated by taxes on tobacco products. The

embodies Kew’s history and work since 1847 and is thus a

it. In 1600, Pope Urban VIII threatened excommunication for those who

Nazis in Germany were also strongly against tobacco and published some

of contacts available to a prominent scientist of the time: consular staff at British missions in China and Japan,

window into Britain’s world view in the last 150 years.

biologists such as Richard Spruce in the Amazon and Alfred

smoked or took snuff in holy places, expanding his threat later to the users

of the earliest work linking smoking to cancer.1 Throughout most of the

of snuff in all areas. In 1612, a Chinese Imperial edict forbade the planting

1990s, the European Union spent more on subsidising tobacco growing

and use of tobacco, and in 1638 it was made a crime punishable by

than on enforcing anti-smoking measures.2

Russel Wallace in Indonesia, and explorers such as David

This year, 2009, marks the 250th anniversary of the establishment

decapitation. Tsar Alexis of Russia enforced strict penalties for smoking in

Livingstone in Africa and General Gordon in the Indian Ocean.

of a botanic garden at Kew. When Kew celebrates its 350th

1634: whipping, a slit nose, and transportation to Siberia for a first offence,

1. Proctor, Robert N. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2001. 30: pp. 31-34.

Other sources were the great World’s Fairs – most notably

birthday, these new accessions will in turn be old, and perhaps

execution for a second. The Tsar later had to reverse this decision in order

2. British Medical Journal. 1996. 312: pp. 832-835.

the Crystal Palace of 1851 and the Colonial and Indian Exhibition

an inspiration to a future generation of artists.

Tobacco 2009, Plaster cast in a reclaimed box, 30.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm overall

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Oil cake is formed from the mineral and protein rich solids that remain after

that became so fashionable in the 1800s that anti-macassar cloths were

Circumcision, or the ringing of any kind of fruit tree, has two purposes:

bark towards the end of a branch then making a perpendicular slit allowing

pressing a mass such as linseed, cottonseed or soybean to extract the oil

introduced to protect the fabric coverings on furniture from the damage

one, to produce plentiful and early blossom, and two, to increase the size

a ring of the bark to be removed.1

it contains. The cake is a robust product that is often used in animal feed.

caused by men’s oiled hair.2

of the fruit. It is performed by making two circular incisions, ringing the

1. Bridgeman, Thomas. The Fruit Cultivator’s Manual. New York, 1844.

The oil cakes from toxic seeds, castor beans and tung nuts are used as

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009.

fertilizers rather than for nutrition.1 This cake of Schleichera oleosa (Lour.)

2. Sherrow, Victoria. Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History. Santa Barbara, CA:

Oken is made from the seed which produces macassar oil, a hair product

Greenwood Press, 2006.

Cakes and Pies 2009, Plaster casts in 3 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 35.5 x 5 cm overall

Fig 2009, Plaster casts in 2 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 35.5 x 3 cm overall

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A R K

Jamaican lacebark comes from the inner bark of the lacebark tree, Lagetta

his book A voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and

lagetto. A specimen at Kew shows how the ‘lace’ is teased out from pieces

Jamaica. Lacebark was used in slave clothing. After the abolition of slavery, the

of branch. The use of lacebark for clothing was noted by Sir Hans Sloane in

production of lacebark items as souvenirs became an important rural craft.

Lacebark 2009, Plaster casts in 4 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 46 x 3cm overall

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Eucalyptus diversicolor is one of the two tallest hardwood trees in the

solely on seed for regeneration. In Gloucester National Park, Australia,

Barilla is the ash formed by burning salt tolerant seaside plants, and is a

softer and of lower quality. Castile soap is used to lubricate the slipways

world. Karri has a smooth, deciduous bark with a colour moving along a

there is a famous Karri tree. Approximately 250,000 people have climbed

product high in sodium carbonate. In Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries,

when launching ships. In May 1911, at the launching of the Titanic, twenty-

spectrum from pink to white as it sheds. Used as a structural hardwood

up the spikes fixed to its trunk, to its lookout platform 58 meters above

Barilla was combined with olive oil to make castile soap, a hard white soap

two tons of tallow and castile soap were employed to propel the ship on its

and for the manufacture of indoor and outdoor furniture, the timber is

the ground. The first Karri fire tree lookout was constructed in 1938. By

that was highly prized all over Europe. Soap produced from the ash of land

doomed maiden voyage. At the time, the Titanic was the largest object ever

marketed worldwide. Untreated, large holes can appear in the wood –

1952, 8 tree towers had been constructed, of these, 3 remain open to

plants, which contains mostly potassium carbonate, tended to be much

moved by man. It would not have moved at all without soap.

evidence of an attack by the Phoracantha synonyma or Eucalypt longicorn

the public.1

beetle. Unlike many other eucalypts, Karri is killed outright by fire and

1. The Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia,

does not regenerate from a lignotuber or from epicormic shoots, relying

www.dec.wa.gov.au

Bugs 2009, Plaster cast in a reclaimed box, 30.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm overall

Ablutions 2009, Plaster casts in 4 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 51 x 5 cm overall

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Don’t play with matches – it is not just fire that is dangerous. Now

are slow burning fibers or ropes that maintain a glowing ember

After seeing a prototype of a product produced for Charles Goodyear Jr,

was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 10 years

produced

with

and are used to light another substance. Early muskets, known as

Dr C.S Putnam became one of the earliest makers of rubber dentures in

imprisonment, after which he returned to dentistry. With Bacon dead, the

white phosphorus. Before it was banned in 1906, in one of the first

matchlocks, were fired using a slow match, usually made of hemp. An

the USA. This led to the establishment of the Goodyear Dental Vulcanite

Goodyear Dental Vulcanite Company’s tyrannical monopolisation of the

international agreements of its kind, it was responsible for a number

obvious disadvantage to this was that the enemy could detect the glowing

Company, which came under the control of Josiah Bacon in 1866. Bacon

market finally came to an end, allowing rubber dentures to become more

of deaths. In 1842, a case of a child who died from poisoning after

match when night fell.

purchased an early rubber teeth patent from an impoverished dentist and

affordable and widely available.1,2,3

sucking matches was recorded. The phosphorus she had imbibed made

1. Lafargue, R. A. ‘Poisoning from Lucifer Matches’. Provincial Medical & Surgical Journal.

deployed it to ruthlessly sue dentists all over the USA for royalties. On

1. American Heritage Magazine. Vol. 7, Issue 2, 1991.

her breath glow in the dark, before taking it away.1 ‘Slow matches’

Issue 24; Vol 5, 1842. p.251.

Easter Sunday, 1879, matters came to a head when dentist Dr Samuel

2. The New York Times. Wednesday April 24, 1879.

Chalfant, whom Bacon had hounded for years, shot him dead. Relieved

3. US Supreme Court records Smith V. MITH V. GOODYEAR DENTAL VULCANITE COMPANY,

dentists from all over America contributed to Chalfant’s defense. He

93 U. S. 486 (1876)

from

safer

materials,

early

matches

were

made

Matches 2009, Plaster casts in 2 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 35.5 x 3 cm overall

Teeth 2009, Plaster casts in 3 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 51 x 5 cm overall

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Leaf cutter bees build their nests by tunneling into rotting wood, or taking

fend for themselves on the supplies provided. There are many species of

over pre-existing cavities, using oval sections of leaves as lining. By this

leaf cutting bees. Some are such efficient pollinators that they are used

method, they form individual cells to house single eggs that they fill with

commercially for crops such as alfalfa, blueberries, carrots and other

nectar and pollen, and seal with a circular piece of leaf. The bees then

vegetables.1 Leaf cutting can destroy the aesthetics of ornamental plants,

build a second cell above the first, and continue in this fashion until the

but it rarely harms the plant.

whole tunnel is filled. Like all solitary bees, the female leaves the grubs to

1.Michener, CD. The Bees of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press. 2000.

Bee 2009, Plaster casts in 3 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 35.5 x 3 cm overall

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The primary use of Silkworm gut was as fishing line. In a letter to the

and drawn out. The small boys are always provided with vinegar and water when

On the side of every British ship is a symbol that must be visible above the

new shoe that was becoming fashionable beach attire. These shoes had a

Foreign Office in 1867 – to be forwarded to the Royal Botanic Gardens –

in the capture, as the operation brooks of no delay. If the worms are kept at all

waterline, a circle intersected by a horizontal line known as the plimsoll

colored strip where the rubber sole joined the canvas upper, a feature that,

Robert Swinhoe, consul at Amoy China, writes:

the gut is useless and will not draw. Each gut, if properly managed, will draw

line. Named after Samuel Plimsoll (1824-98), who introduced the Merchant

like the shipping symbol, indicated the level to which the footwear could be

Near the end of June small boys are set to watch under the trees for the worms

out to 20 or 30 feet. The gut is dried in a shady place, and is then rolled up and

Shipping Act of 1876, this line prevents ships being overloaded and has

safely submerged.2

to descend, lowering themselves on their own threads. They do not come down

considered ready for use.

saved countless lives. It is rumored that the reason rubber soled shoes

until they are ready to spin. As soon as a worm descends it is at once caught and

1.Chinese Silkworm Gut, ‘Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information’, Vol. 1892, No.70, pp.

are know as plimsolls is due to Philip Lace, a sales representative from the

1. Jones, Nicolette. The Plimsoll Sensation. London: Little Brown & Co, 2006.

broken, and the silk-gut there and then extracted, steeped in vinegar, washed

222-227 Published by Springer on behalf of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

New Liverpool Rubber Company, who in 1876 suggested the name for a

2. Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press.

1

1

Silk 2009, Plaster casts in 2 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 35.5 x 3 cm overall

Shoe 2009, Plaster casts in 4 reclaimed boxes, 30.5 x 51 x 5 cm overall

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JANE E

D D E N

B

I O G R A P H Y

1966

Born Sussex

The Map is Not the Territory, England & Co., London

1982-84

West Sussex College of Art & Design

Jane Edden and Chris Kenny, England & Co., London

1984-88 BA Industrial Design, Manchester Polytechnic

2002

Solar Summer, Wysing Arts, Cambridgeshire To be continued..., Club 22, Tbilisi, Georgia

S

O L O

E

2003

X I B I T I O N S

Sartorial 03, England & Co., London Shankill Co-op, Shankill Castle, Kilkenny, Ireland

1996

Recent Creations, Cassian de Vere Cole Fine Art, London

Sculpture in Context. National Botanic Gardens,

1998

Encasing a Case, Idee Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

Glasnevin, Dublin

1999

Fly on the Wall, Idee Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

Nomads Land, Michigan University, Michigan

2000

Solar Labels, Blumenthal & Lynne, New York

Video installations, Sculpture Space, New York

2004

If I’m Breathing, I’m Singing, Patrick Allan-Fraser

2005

Sartorial 05, England & Co., London

Memorial Chapel, Arbroath, Scotland

2006

Case Study, Beyond the Valley, London touring to

2006

Migration, England & Co., London

Plymouth Arts Centre, Plymouth

2007

Avionics, Flowers East, London

Sensory Material, Bonhams, London

Flowers, New York

Substance and Light, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts

Installations, Wolstenholme Projects, Long Night of the

Institute, Utica, New York

2008

Biennial, Liverpool 2009

2007

Langham Fine Art, Suffolk

Pigeonhole, BCA Gallery, Bedford C G

1995

R O U P

E

O M M I S S I O N S

/ R

E S I D E N C I E S

/ AWA

R D S

X H I B I T I O N S

1999

Aviary - Interactive kinetic public sculpture, Bluewater, Kent

The Land of Summer, The Fine Art Consultancy, London

2000

Solar Insects - Installation for Richard Blumenthal, New York

Cadogan Contemporary, London

2002

Wysing Arts Residency, Cambridgeshire

1996

Cadogan Contemporary, London

2004

Robert Flemming Residency, Hospitalfield, Scotland

1997

Flying Bullets, Cassian de Vere Cole Fine Art, London

Sculpture Space Residency, New York

Images of the Sea, Cadogan Contemporary, London

2006

Project Funding Award, Juliet Gomperts Trust, London

1998

Still Life, Collyer Bristow, London

2007

Mass Movement, Multimedia installation, Sonic Arts

1999

Continuation, England & Co., London

2001

Network, Plymouth

Galerie Vieille du Temple, Paris

2008

BCA Residency, Bedford

Art 2001, England & Co., London

2009

Post secret, Public Sculptures, St David’S2 partnership,

Succulent Fruits, Spica Museum, Tokyo, Japan

Cardiff

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First published in Great Britain in 2009 by Flowers, London Š 2009 Jane Edden and Flowers Flowers 82 Kingsland Road London E2 8DP T: +44 (0) 20 7920 7777 F: +44 (0) 20 7920 7770 gallery@flowerseast.com 21 Cork Street London W1S 3LZ T: +44 (0) 20 7439 7766 F: +44 (0) 20 7439 7733 central@flowerseast.com www.flowerseast.com Published on the occasion of the exhibition Jane Edden Hunter gatherer Flowers, 21 Cork Street, London 4 - 28 November 2009 ISBN 978-1-906412-29-6 Co-ordination: Ellie Harrison-Read Design: Webb & Webb Design Limited Printing: Empress, London With many thanks to Mark Nesbit at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for organising access to the Collection and for his knowledge, help and support. Thanks also to Mike Collins and Matthew Partridge for their help with fact-finding and checking.