Anna Garforth is an eco-artist in the truest sense. An inhabitant of London, England, Anna is a master of creating art out of natural materials, like leaves and moss. Her most recognized work is in her collaboration with poet Eleanor Stevens to create poetry written in moss, displayed on public walls. These beautiful and organic installations have helped cement her reputation as one of the leading artists to capture the nature aesthetic.
“I don’t really know how to define my art,” Anna wrote in an interview with MYOO. “Probably something long-winded like, 3D experimental typographic installation artist. My work falls into many genres, so I don’t really know how to define it under one name. I often felt lost not knowing what to call myself, but now I kind of like it.”
“I used nature to make it, and it is nature that takes it away.”
“I did take on the term ‘urban land artist’ when I was creating site-specific artworks in an urban environment working with materials I collected from the land. For example, I have created leaf installations in the same spot where I collected the leaves. Using materials from nature is different because the materials are not bought from an art store. They are bio-degradable, and the artwork is ephemeral. I used nature to make it, and it is nature that takes it away.”
She recently finished a large tape installation in the Netherlands, something “very unnatural but very bright and playful,” explained Anna. “Perhaps this is a subconscious decision to counteract all the mossyness!”
When asked what inspires her work, Anna focused mostly on her materials and her environment. “Nature, guerrilla gardening, growing stuff, street art, the city, books, car boot sales, things that get thrown away….the list is endless.” As for other artists? “Andy Goldsworthy, Nils Udo, Andy Uprock, Kate MccGwire, to name a few.”
“For me, it is not about the life of the work, but who it touches in its lifetime.”
“I don’t think I do things deliberately, but rather instinctively. The life of a piece of artwork is determined by what materials I feel inspired to use. Its lifespan is not something I think about. I am more interested in making the piece and the immediate response it gets from the general public. For me, it is not about the life of the work, but who it touches in its lifetime.”
A project of particular pride for Anna is her work with the Urban Physic Garden, which she considers “a must-see” urban forest. The garden has temporarily filled a vacant lot in London to grow medicinal plants and herbs, and Anna created a moss cross to symbolize the marriage of nature and medicine that takes place there. And according to her website, “moss contains healing properties and was often used to treat wounds during World War II. It has an anti-bacterial quality in that it is very acidic, and may have been responsible for saving thousands of lives during the war.”
Her art embraces themes of nature, love, and hope, and does so with a grace and elegance that is a refreshing relief from the grayness of our urban surroundings. Mirroring her art’s simplicity, Anna’s shortest answer from the interview may be her most insightful. When asked how she incorporates the themes of her art into her daily life practices, she responded, “In my being and in my doing.”
—Mark Lukach
All images used with permission from Anna Garforth. Visit her website to see more of her artwork and lovely natural designs.
