Jacques Nimki’s artistic practice involves him in collecting, drawing, and pressing plants. In his previous work he has catalogued specimens that have taken hold in neglected, hidden or untrammelled areas of the urban landscape. His database of research contains information on the sites he visits, each plant’s condition and abundance, and a host of supplementary data drawn from common knowledge, folklore, medical and culinary uses, astrological associations and magical properties.

Over the last twelve months preceding his exhibition at Fabrica, Jacques Nimki had been resident artist at King’s Wood, Challock, Kent hosted by Stour Valley Arts. King’s Wood is a working forest managed by the Forestry Commission and is used by a range of visitors, mainly for walking and recreation. The plants Jacques collects from roadsides, canal banks and waste ground; often categorised as weeds; are hardy and resilient, finding their own life within the everyday, often unseen. In the wood, on the other hand, these same plants are designated wildflowers, on display in what he describes as ‘a never ending series of idealised repetitive moments’, heralding the start of seasons or punctuating the daily cycle of woodland activity.

His residency in King’s Wood provided him with a new context in which to consider his work and develop ideas for this exhibition at Fabrica. Woodlock drew together elements from both the urban and rural environments and invites us to consider contrasting ideas about nature, bio-diversity and conservation.