Herbarius: A New Herbal for the Anthropocene

The plants in this series carry a quiet story of empire, migration and ecological disruption, told through culturally valued medicinal herbs, initially transported around the world by colonial settlers for their “physic gardens”.  My research at the Folger Shakespeare Library revealed that a full third of the plants in the Herbarius Latinus (1484) are either targeted by herbicides used in industrial-scale monoculture plantations, found within invasive and non-native species databases, or listed in the marketing materials for the control of weeds in private and public landscaping.

The illustrations in this series are inspired by the medieval stylistic qualities of the original woodblocks: symmetry, symbolism and simplicity of form. I copy excerpts from the Herbarius Latinus text using brush and ink calligraphy, and use contemporary botanical terminology and cursive script to write marginalia along the borders of each raw canvas “page”. The chemical formulae of herbicides recommended to kill each plant decorate the lower border. These toxic chemicals have cumulative, detrimental effects on non-targeted plants, insects, birds, mammals, reptiles, aquatic life, and soil organisms, further escalating biodiversity decline across multiple species.

By focusing on plants despised as weeds, I celebrate the value of all species, as ongoing habitat destruction, chemical inputs and climate change accelerate the global biodiversity crisis. It is my intent that this series about disruption, loss, and survival will generate conversations about humanity’s complex relationships to the natural world, and help bring awareness to the multiple challenges that all living things face in this century of unprecedented ecological trauma.