Decimus Burton’s Temperate House at Kew Gardens reopened in 2018 following a six-year restoration project by Donald Insall and Associates. During their analysis of the building, paint studies revealed that in the 1860s, its walls were stone-coloured, with pale blue and white decoration, and that later blocks were originally painted green. This was all covered by white titanium dioxide in the 1950s. Now colour is back, in the form of bold, bright installations for Kew’s Queer Nature festival this October – a celebration of LGBTQ+ voices, and the diversity and beauty of its plants and fungi.
The largest commission, House of Spirits consists of wide translucent banners, almost the full height of the 19-metre space, suspended from the steel frame above the glasshouse’s central clearing. They are by New York-based artist, Jeff Gibson – a coup for Kew, as he’s due to represent the USA at next year’s Venice Biennale…
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