This print is currently only available as a ‘perk‘ for donations to the ‘Seeds from Elsewhere’ project. It’s a social initiative by artists They Are Here: www.theyarehere.net. Working with young refugees, asylum seekers and migrants living in London, they will create an urban garden in an enclosed area of Finsbury Park. Their aim is to grow flowers, plants and edible produce which originates from the homelands of the participants. This will include chillies from The Democratic Republic of the Congo, mango from Sri Lanka and spices from Jamaica. To make this happen, they are raising funds to buy gardening tools and equipment, to build a greenhouse and to support group meetings. It’s going to be a wonderful project, so please do support it if you can. More details here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/seeds-from-elsewhere#/ 

This is the first image from a new series I’m working on. Like displaced people, these long-ago-imported plants strive to adapt, and to grow to their full glory despite unnatural environments. I stumbled upon their greenhouses on a very hot day, in the botanical gardens behind the UN headquarters in Geneva. More will follow soon, but I’ve published this image prematurely to support this excellent social project.

Click image to see enlargement