Rooted : Here

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Rooted : Here explores how colour, pattern and image making can help us notice and connect with the natural world around us.​​

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Inspired by the wildflowers, weeds and everyday plants growing across Kirkstall and the neighbouring areas of Leeds, West Yorkshire. The project responds to the idea of ‘plant blindness’, our tendency to overlook the plants we encounter every day simply because we do not know their names or recognise their importance.

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Through hand-drawn studies, collage, repeat pattern design and hand screen-printing,

Rooted : Here celebrates local biodiversity and encourages greater botanical literacy, the ability to recognise, name and understand the plants that share our streets, verges, gardens and green spaces.

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The project's main output was a textile repeat design which brought together observations of local plant species with information about their identities. Pattern became a way of communicating and sharing this botanical research in an accessible and familiar visual form, creating work that is both decorative and educational.

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The project also invited visitors to take part in a free drop-in relief printing activity, creating their own wildflower prints. The activity provided an opportunity to talk about local plants, biodiversity and memories of the green spaces around Kirkstall, extending the project's research into a shared and participatory experience.

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Rooted : Here was developed specifically for Kirkstall Art Trail 2026 and forms part of an ongoing exploration of the relationships between plants, people and place.

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Because if we do not notice what is growing around us, how will we know when it is no longer there?​​​​

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