The Plant Dreaming exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery, running from November 14, 2025, to April 19, 2026, showcases contemporary artists like Emma Talbot and Yan Wang Preston who are boldly re-imagining humanity’s vital connection with nature. This powerful collection, using diverse media, celebrates the healing essence of plants and traditional knowledge, urging a more symbiotic relationship with the environment amidst the urgent climate crisis.
What is the Plant Dreaming exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery about?
Plant Dreaming at Leeds Art Gallery explores how contemporary artists reimagine humanity’s connection with nature. Through diverse media, the exhibition highlights plants’ healing powers, celebrates traditional knowledge, and calls for more holistic, symbiotic relationships between people and the natural world, emphasizing climate crisis concerns.
Reimagining Plant Life in Contemporary Art
Leeds Art Gallery recently unveiled its groundbreaking exhibition, Plant Dreaming, opening on November 14, 2025. The exhibition offers a compelling reexamination of the natural world, inviting visitors to explore plants and fungi through the lenses of contemporary artists. The featured works steer away from traditional narratives of utility or exploitation, instead shining a light on what humanity could learn from the plant world. This thematic focus serves as a timely reminder of our planet’s interconnectedness and the need for more holistic relationships with the environment.
Plant Dreaming presents the creations of acclaimed artists such as Emma Talbot, Noémie Goudal, Yan Wang Preston, SHARP, Jane Lawson, Aliyah Hussain, and Charmaine Watkiss. These artists use a diverse array of media, including large-scale textile pieces, ceramics, vibrant drawings, evocative photography, and immersive film. According to the exhibition, “Plant Dreaming celebrates the power of nature as a source of healing and global connections within the context of the current climate crisis.”
Visitors can expect to witness innovative artworks that question human dominion over nature and instead propose alternative, more symbiotic relationships. This focus is especially relevant in our era of environmental urgency. As stated by Jane Bhoyroo, Principal Keeper at Leeds Art Gallery, “This cross-disciplinary show reimagines our relationship with the living world and draws on the breadth of our outstanding collections including plant specimens from natural sciences to the recent acquisition of a major drawing by Charmaine Watkiss.”
Artistic Voices and Their Personal Connections to the Living World
Central to the exhibition is the presentation of unique, lived experiences that illustrate the personal and global significance of plants. Aliyah Hussain’s installation, for example, forms a powerful bridge between environmental histories. Hussain’s work reflects the artist’s experience with flooding in England’s Calder Valley, paralleling it with the displacement and ecological transformation brought by the Mangla Dam’s construction in Pakistan. This connection “brings together local, national and international perspectives,” highlighting the global reach and personal intimacy of environmental change.
Yan Wang Preston offers a thought-provoking perspective on migration and botanical identity with her exploration of Rhododendron Ponticum. Labeled an invasive species in the UK, the rhododendron is a native treasure in China, revered for its beauty and cultural meaning. Through her lens, the contested narrative of a plant species becomes a metaphor for belonging and alienation, encouraging visitors to reexamine how value and perception shape our relationship with nature.
Other artists spotlight intersections of nature, identity, and activism. Yorkshire-born SHARP’s photographic work references their upbringing in Bradford under the shadow of Section 28 legislation, which barred open discussion of homosexuality in schools. Their art becomes a testament to resilience and visibility, set against botanical motifs. Jane Lawson’s stunning textiles dream of a utopian world beyond the grip of the climate crisis, weaving speculative futures from the threads of hope and environmental stewardship.
Celebrating Traditional Knowledge and Nature’s Medicinal Gifts
Emma Talbot’s expansive paintings on silk serve as a visual ode to the medicinal value of plants. Her use of color and form accentuates the healing power that lies within the natural world, a power often overlooked in industrialized societies. By focusing on the curative properties of botanicals, the artist encourages a renewed appreciation for age-old natural remedies and the symbiotic wisdom inherent in plant life.
Charmaine Watkiss’s body of work illustrates the transmission of knowledge across generations. Drawing inspiration from the plants of the Caribbean, Watkiss explores the richness and diversity of traditional plant uses, combining natural history with personal and collective memory. Her detailed drawings not only honor ancestral wisdom but also highlight the ongoing contributions of diasporic communities to global ecological consciousness.
The exhibition integrates natural science with contemporary art through its selection of objects, including plants from Leeds Art Gallery’s own scientific collections. This interdisciplinary approach creates a unique opportunity for visitors to experience the natural world as simultaneously artistic, scientific, and spiritual. As described by Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, “These beautiful depictions of the natural world encapsulate the unique power which nature has to inspire creativity as well as the importance of acknowledging our connection to the world around us.”
Dialogue, Engagement, and the Power of Exhibitions
Plant Dreaming is not an isolated event; it runs alongside another notable exhibition, ‘Don’t Let’s Ask for the Moon…’: Nocturnes and Atkinson Grimshaw, celebrating the famous Leeds artist’s moonlit works. The coupling of these exhibitions enriches the visitor experience, linking themes of nature, nocturnality, and creative inspiration across time and media.
To further its impact, Plant Dreaming is accompanied by a comprehensive program of related events. These events are designed to engage diverse audiences and foster deeper discussions on the intricate relationships between people and plant life. Leeds Art Gallery has adopted a “Give What You Can” policy, ensuring access for all and emphasizing the institution’s commitment to community inclusion and educational outreach. A full schedule of events and further information about the exhibition can be found on the official exhibition page.
Public officials echo the societal significance of exhibitions like Plant Dreaming. As Councillor Salma Arif notes, “Exhibitions like this one have a hugely important role to play in both inspiring visitors and encouraging us to think more about our role in protecting and preserving the planet for future generations.” This respects the transformative power of art in shaping consciousness and catalyzing public dialogue about global environmental futures.
Plant Dreaming is open from November 14, 2025, until April 19, 2026, at Leeds Art Gallery. For more information and updates, visit the Leeds Museums and Galleries website.
- The “Plant Dreaming” exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery runs from November 14, 2025, to April 19, 2026.
- The exhibition features contemporary artists like Emma Talbot and Yan Wang Preston, showcasing their re-imagining of humanity’s connection with nature.
- It utilizes diverse media to celebrate the healing power of plants and traditional knowledge, advocating for a more symbiotic relationship with the environment.
- The exhibition aims to highlight what humanity can learn from the plant world, moving away from narratives of utility or exploitation.
- Plant Dreaming includes a comprehensive program of related events and has a “Give What You Can” policy to ensure accessibility.