Above: 'Frond Bank' (Cronfa Ffrond), Plant Communitas, The Rodd, Sidney Nolan Trust, Presteigne
Medium: cast pewter, dyed waxed canvas, thread, iron hoop
For the exhibition Plant Communitas, Hughes worked with folklore that revolves around the bracken fern. For hundreds of years humans could find no trace of how ferns reproduced, and this dark and interesting gap in our knowledge became a gathering point for meaning, powers and practices, including beliefs about invisibility.
Rituals emerged that were designed to bring fern seeds to light. Affinities with other plants such as Garden Mullein, highly specific gathering actions and the use of materials such as pewter were said to lead the fern seeds and even a mythical fern flower to appear.
Hughes has worked with metal, foraged plants, textiles, ceramic and mixed media to create an installation that brings together elements of these gathering practices and beliefs. In the process, Hughes invites us to consider how these ideas tell us as much about being human as they do about being ‘fern’.
Below: 'Dark Fernland' (Rhedynen Ddu), 2023
Medium: preserved bracken, glazed ceramic, garden mullein plants
For 'Dark Fernland' Hughes cast pewter forms made by ferns that fail to unfurl, turning back in on themselves towards the earth. Dark Fernland is part of a body of work exploring the familiar and yet estranged relationship we have with these ancient and prolific ferns.
