Author(s): Zadok Ben-David

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An exploration of an artist whose work sits at the intersection of the human and natural worlds.

Just as a forest can house towering redwoods alongside microscopic fungi, the sculptures of London-based artist Zadok Ben-David oscillate starkly and effortlessly between the miniature and the monumental. Ben-David's art explores themes linked to human nature and evolution, using metals to lyrically evoke the botanical world and human beings' increasingly fraught relationship with it.

Natural Reserve celebrates the work of Ben-David, centering on his moody floor installation Blackfield, which is made up of more than 17,000 miniature etched steel flowers, duplicated and hand-painted from nine hundred different species. The book also highlights his video and wall installations, as well as new pieces inspired by Asian and European botanical drawings housed in Kew's archives that date back to the fifteenth century. Illustrated throughout with vivid photographs of Ben-David's work, and featuring an essay from scholar Yael Guilat and a foreword from Kew CEO Richard Deverell, Natural Reserve is a striking portrait of the intersections between human art and natural flora.