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Handmade Wardian Case, boat fenders, enamel paint, artificial grass, foam
Dimesions of base 80 x 60 cm
Installed at IMMERSIONS, Robinson College, Cambridge, June 2022
Curated by Mattie O’Callaghan and Polly Hines, commissioned by Mattie
Ophelia is a sculpture, designed to float on water. The case is a handmade replica of a Wardian Case, a technology used to ship plants across the globe during the 19th and early 20th century. The boat fenders, are hand-painted with floral motifs taken from Ming vases, which have been studied and codified using a grid formation. The case sits upon a raft made from artificial grass and foam lashed together. The piece was a culmination of research into the historical movement of plants and colonial botany during the Victorian era.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a503a351fc99c6d92c084157ce986f5ad0044bf5152fa172e3f13b08c952b069/Ophelia-web-qual-13.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/46d2a62e5bdb15ecf637d5e6c31d30bbdaa8dc4944aed85a1ad04344df47309b/Ophelia-web-qual-9.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b9da92b592f5b87995a62685b0b2ef28d13faec16ef1b870dcd26424a2b39f4c/Ophelia-web-qual-8.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b2c226f77322cecd7c57674217ecdd2bbcb12a3ca4a306a752e0d341aac820c1/Ophelia-web-qual-6.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/688e7638720a269a8feb8953c6d5c3ff86d6f5cd600e9563a20f311859c6008c/Ophelia-web-qual-5.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7a27f8dab61f6b8cf79420ffe12e9c8715ef99d482d57058820a6afbce93eb63/Ophelia-web-qual-4.jpg)