Forest Bathing
Forest Bathing
Helen Mitchell
Refinery ArtSpace
114 Hardy Street, Nelson
5 December 2022 - 14 January 2023
Artist’s floor talk Tuesday 6 December at midday
During the 2020 Covid lockdown I renewed my relationship with gardening by
creating a socially engaged project ‘a dose of gardening’ in collaboration with Go
Gardening magazine that brought together writing and images of contributors
gardening experiences. That initial exploration underpins my current project ‘Forest
Bathing’. The outcome of this is a series of large photographic images that immerse
the viewer in a selection of garden spaces, a reflection of my own experiences of
gardening. The content varies from forgotten neglected corners of private gardens
to selected views of collaborative community gardens. The images, a combination of
pin-sharp digital images and ethereal analogue pinhole photographs provide an
almost hyper-real experience. My vision is for the viewer to feel as if surrounded by
garden rooms, some instantly commanding attention, others are quiet slow-burners.
In perhaps some way this reflects our thoughts and memories, the way we sort and
process experiences, while gardening and reflecting on life.
Researching more widely on the benefits of gardening I discovered Time magazine’s
2018 article on the health benefits of Forest Bathing. The article discusses how the
Japanese practise shinrin-yoku emerged in Japanese culture and that Qing Li’s book
‘Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness’ is an
important text quantifying the physiological and psychological benefits of this
practice. The positive effects of gardening on mental health and wellbeing are also
documented in a number of scientific publications. Considered photographic
practice has also been the subject of a number of studies. In ‘See with Fresh Eyes:
Mindful Photography for Improved Mental Health’ published by University of
Gloucestershire, participants reported an improvement in their anxiety, the
opportunity to focus on the self and an increase in connectedness to nature. My
approach is a considered engagement employing analogue photographic techniques
to slow down the exploration of gardens and green spaces.
- Helen Mitchell
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