Charlie Kirkham

Am excited to be showing my work Temptation, Expulsion, Dragons of Eden, ink and gouache on rag paper, 30x37cm as part of a collective exhibition at the Botanical Gardens GE, Italy.

EXHIBITION ABSTRACT

Hortus – quasi – Conclusus

Hortus – quasi – Conclusus is a project conceived by Arianna Tinulla Milesi and curated by Laura Brignoli, bringing together approximately twenty Italian and international artists working across diverse media, including painting and performance. The exhibition investigates the concept of the hortus conclusus—the enclosed garden of medieval monastic tradition—rooted in the Song of Songs and historically associated with the Garden of Eden and Marian iconography.

The participating artists engage in a dialogue with the living plant collections of the botanical garden, drawing inspiration from monastic practices of cultivating medicinal and edible species. Their works establish a layered relationship between artistic research and botanical knowledge, activating the garden as both a physical and symbolic site. The curatorial narrative unfolds through social, material and spiritual trajectories, addressing both concrete historical practices and the ritualistic or recreational uses of plant species by saints and religious figures.

The hortus conclusus emerges as a symbol of protection and knowledge: traditionally divided into four sections and centred around a fountain or well, it functioned as a microcosm in which the natural, human and divine realms coexisted in harmonious balance. Within this framework, the botanical garden is reimagined as a contemporary ecological scenario and as a metaphor for nature understood as a mental, enclosed and fertile space. It evokes dream imagery and the unconscious, while also reflecting on the garden’s shifting social role as a site of power, access and dissemination.

As part of the project, three workshops led by artists and art therapists will further expand these themes through participatory and educational practices. The greenhouse will be spatially organised according to the architectural principles of the hortus conclusus, articulated into four distinct sections with a central area dedicated to performances or, alternatively, to a vessel filled with water,

by Laura Brignoli

How does this work fit into the exhibition? It was a joyous coincidence. I’d mentioned working on a series of nature inspired Edens for my upcoming book. I was speaking with Arianna and sharing the works and we realised thematically it was very connected.

My work explores nature, identity and myth. This Eden themed drawing explores the first garden, Eden. The Western canon uses apples as the traditional fruit, yet scholars debate this. Was it wheat, figs, almonds, or citron? Multiple temporalities converge in this image. Picking fruit. Consumption. Expulsion. Incompatible plants grow together. Figures remain entwined. I’m questioning nature, belonging, and paradise’s truth. This garden is a falling paradise where lies build on one another until destruction ensues.

The serpent exploits Adam’s embellished commandment to Eve. Adam is asked not to eat from the tree. He tells Eve not to eat or even touch the Tree of Knowledge. That’s how the serpent tricks her. Humanity’s fall links back to domestic discord. A lesson to the first man: never lie to your wife. In this reading both sexes are culpable for the Fall of Man.

The exhibition is open 8-23 August 2026

Director Gelsomina Fico
Curator & Critical Text Laura Brignoli
Production & Communication Arianna Tinulla Milesi

📍 G.E. Ghirardi Botanical Garden, Toscolano Maderno
⛪ Featuring a special spin-off exhibition at the Romanesque Church of Sant’Andrea

Artists:
Susan Bonfanti · Chloe Briggs · Cevì · Lynda Clark · Gary Cook · Louisa Crispin · Adrienne Defendi · Marina Denora · Klaire Doyle · Olivia Hicks · Rhona Jack & Calum Wallis · Vidhi Jangra · Charlie Kirkham · Ibby Lanfear · Chiara Luzi · Arianna Tinulla Milesi · Susan Poole · Louise Frances Smith · Marianne Walker · Marie-Louise Wasiela · Deborah Zamboni

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