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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