Tempered Ground

Invited by Danielle Arnaud, Jordan Kaplan and Philip Norman to be in this group exhibition at the Museum of Garden History, each artist selected was asked to choose a garden and team up with a Head Gardener of a particular type of garden (i.e. National Trust, allotment or park) to develop an idea relative to place.

Choosing Packwood House, a National Trust property near Solihull, Boggon devised a video narrative that focussed on the famous topiary yews at Packwood. It investigated the symbolism of the yew tree and the legend that the seventeenth century yew tree garden is said to represent The Sermon on the Mount.

The film created depicts a small Yew tree uprooting itself and straying from the path of its elders in search of the unknown. Recreating a journey through meadows, bluebell woods, and the remaining structured garden with its mingled flowerbeds and array of colours, this journey is about naivety, curiosity, wonder and growth and ultimately about a sense of belonging. The film is set to music by Handel, which acknowledges the era of the house.

Research included several site visits, including an informal tour with Michael Evans, the Head Gardener. It also included research in to plants and trees, particulary the yew tree. Information was collated over a nine-month period, including historical facts about the garden and the house and a photographic record of the garden over the months.