Maria Clarke-Wilson
The landscape is both my material and my collaborator. Through walking, foraging, and careful observation, I gather plants from the places I inhabit, transforming leaves, flowers, bark, and roots into natural dyes that carry the colours and essence of the land itself. Each work becomes a record of an encounter—a dialogue between artist, material, and environment.
My practice is guided by the rhythms of the natural world: the changing seasons, the cycles of growth and decay, and the unseen energy that connects all living things. The unpredictable nature of plant dyes is embraced as part of the creative process, allowing the work to evolve organically rather than through complete control. These subtle variations reflect the living qualities of the materials and the landscapes from which they are gathered.
Working sustainably and with foraged materials is central to my practice. It is an act of attentiveness and reciprocity, inviting a slower way of making that honours the knowledge held within plants and the places they grow. The resulting landscapes are not literal representations, but quiet meditations on presence, memory, and belonging.
Through these works, I hope to encourage a renewed connection with the Earth—one that recognises our place within its intricate rhythms rather than apart from them. They offer an invitation to pause, to notice, and to reflect on the enduring relationship between people, landscape, and the living energy that binds us together.
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