Bright Succulents, Cacti, and Plants Attempt to Break From Ant Hamlyn’s Claustrophobic Terrariums

Art

#Ant Hamlyn
#flowers
#sculpture

Bright Succulents, Cacti, and Plants Attempt to Break From Ant Hamlyn’s Claustrophobic Terrariums

March 12, 2024

Grace Ebert

“Succulents.” All photos by dotgain.info, shared with permission

In Ant Hamlyn’s latest body of work, flowers and plants at the prime of life attempt to burst from their habitats in a desperate search for air and room to grow. The London-based artist is known for his sculptures of botanicals suffocating underneath acrylic panels, a subject matter he continues for his forthcoming exhibition Terrarium.

Opening this week at Weserhalle in Berlin, the show features Hamlyn’s signature specimens made of velvet and shiny, inflatable plastic. Like earlier works, Venus fly traps, plush petals, and the hallucinogenic spotted fly agaric mushroom make an appearance, although this time, they’re unable to breach the plastic panes. Small cork tops seal each stifling terrarium, choking the plants of oxygen and confining them to claustrophobic environments that, unlike the real-life chambers, aren’t created to promote and sustain life.

Terrarium runs from March 15 to April 13. Find more from the artist on Instagram.

“Cactus”

“Shroom”

“Snake Plant Bonsai”

“Carnivores”

“Big Shroom”

#Ant Hamlyn
#flowers
#sculpture

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