Chelsea Physic Garden

Research and live tattooing within the Garden

Embodied Surfaces examines relationships between plants and the individuals who choose to carry them permanently on the body.

Its first iteration took place at Chelsea Physic Garden, where I worked directly with the living collection of medicinal, herbal, and useful plants. Species were selected through observation in the Garden and archival research in its private library.

An open call invited members of the public to share plant-related narratives connected to healing and personal experience. Over 200 applications were received, and one participant was selected and tattooed on site, with the composition developed in response to my research and time spent drawing within the garden.

The tattoo session formed the central public moment of the project, bringing tattooing into the garden’s programme and offering a different way of engaging with its medicinal and historical context.

A main film and a series of short films documented the project. Footage was later presented in FLOWERS – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture at Saatchi Gallery.

 Daniel the Gardener drawing from plants inside a glasshouse at Chelsea Physic Garden. Two tattooed participants seen from behind among plants at Chelsea Physic Garden. Tattooed participant standing among flowering plants at Chelsea Physic Garden. Daniel the Gardener tattooing a botanical composition on a participant outdoors at Chelsea Physic Garden. Three participants seen from behind with botanical tattoos across their legs at Chelsea Physic Garden. Tattooed participant standing inside a glasshouse at Chelsea Physic Garden. Participant reclining on the grass with a large botanical back tattoo at Chelsea Physic Garden. Four tattooed participants seen from behind among plants at Chelsea Physic Garden.