Mary Mattingly’s ‘Night Gardens’ series is a poetic reflection on resilience, transformation, and the interconnectedness of life. Through intricate photographic collages, she reimagines the relationship between plants and their shifting environments, creating dreamlike landscapes that blur the boundaries between physical and digital worlds. By using fish tanks, mirrors, cut-outs, and digital layering, Mattingly constructs visual narratives that evoke both myth and ecological change. Each piece explores the adaptability of plant life in the face of environmental uncertainty, offering a vision of survival and metamorphosis within fragile ecosystems.
Drawing inspiration from riparian zones — areas where water levels dictate the rhythms of plant and animal life — Mattingly’s compositions highlight species that have long been symbols of resilience. The lotus and water lily, known for their ability to thrive in changing waters, emerge as central figures in these surreal environments. The thistle, a plant both revered and shunned, carries themes of endurance and fortitude. These botanical elements are layered with mythological and historical references, creating rich visual narratives that connect human culture with the natural world’s capacity for renewal.
Through Night Gardens, Mattingly invites contemplation on the hidden vitality of plants and their unseen struggles for survival. Her use of light and shadow suggests an unseen energy beneath the surface, a quiet persistence that mirrors larger ecological cycles. The fusion of organic and artificial elements in her work underscores the evolving nature of landscapes and our ever-shifting relationship with them. In these nocturnal visions, plants become both subject and storyteller, offering a glimpse into a world where adaptation is not just necessary but inevitable.
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