Jo Dyer - Exhibition

Jo Dyer presents a new body of work in Gallery 2 & Project Space titled “Bidens Pilosa”.

“This body of work came into being whilst exploring my intention to be more present in the world in an attentive and caring way, and what it might look like to try to enact this within my art practice. My plant muse is a weed called Bidens pilosa, more commonly known as farmers’ friends or cobblers’ pegs. It became my focus simply because it was there, growing along the curbsides where I walk each day between my home in Mayfield and my studio in Tighes Hill.

Attuning myself to the presence of this plant during these walks has become a way of ritualising being more present in the world by tending more closely to what is around me. Plants are nearly always present with us in our everyday lives, and to me they act as a visual prompt, reminding me to be mindful, to slow down and take in their nuanced, delicate details. To me, this process is just as important, if not more so, than making the art that it inspires.

This process is the inner, invisible work of cultivating and maintaining an ability to appreciate what I might otherwise overlook in everyday life and I believe that taking the time to engage with the world in this way keeps me open to a sense of curiosity and wonder.” 
Jo Dyer, August 2022