ART NATURE ENVIRONMENT BEAUTY

Redefining our relationship with food plants in a shifting climate.

Vivienne is an artist–researcher whose practice sits at the intersection of inquiry, creativity, and environmental storytelling. She works with our evolving natural environment, shaped by planetary shifts. Through Japanese ink paintings (sumi-e), sculpture, and filmmaking — she translates complex ecological change into sensory experiences, portraying our delicate ecosystems. Observation of nature serves as an overarching theme, capturing the subtle shifts of the 72 Japanese micro-seasons.

Two in five plant species are facing extinction, Vivienne seeks to normalise the conversation around biodiversity — not through alarm, but through tenderness. Hope is a central thread in her work: an active practice informed by her courses at the University of Oxford, including studies on creative and hopeful responses to climate change, and on ethics and hope in a shifting climate with an environmental ethicist who has since joined her advisory board. Together, they shared a public talk on climate ethics and hope at OmVed Gardens. Vivienne believes that metaphors in storytelling are powerful tools to speak of loss and renewal with beauty, compassion, and a grounded sense of possibility.

These observations inform a series of ongoing projects. Her work invites reflection on cultural tradition, on the ways we perceive information, and on how we engage with the natural world of which we are part.

Vivienne follows plants, seeds, and future food cultures as they navigate environmental change and shifting food security. She moves gently between research and making, including soil, water, fire, and air — the elements that sustain life — and opening space for renewed care and connection.

Her work explores the life cycle of plants, particularly their journey to seed production, with special attention to preserving the knowledge she gathers along the way, as we are all learning to adapt to climate shifts.

You are invited to learn more about Vivienne’s creative practice here — and about being a sumi-e artist here.

'Nature holds the key to our cognitive, intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic fulfilment'   E. O. Wilson

Explore ongoing projects

Vivienne likes to work on long-term projects, regularly adding her new learnings from her research, investigations and collaboration with her advisors.

An invitation to connect with the natural world:

Other studio activities

International exhibitions, art education—including the development of a sustainable primary and secondary school art syllabus, classes, talks, and workshops—as well as collaborations with advisors, commissions, books, artist residencies, and a focus on using natural art materials.

News

A selection from Into the Seeds of Time — the solo exhibition originally shown at OmVed Gardens — why beans are good for human and planetary health — will be on display during the Bean Summit 2025, an initiative by The Food Foundation, taking place at the Barbican in London this November.

The display will feature my films, ink paintings, and paper sculptures. Please read more here:

So happy to have been interviewed by Isabelle for the beautiful Art-Web! We talked about my work, process, value and identity. Please read the full interview here:

Collaboration with Ribbons Music, Sara Coleman, and Rebecca Nash Keys on their upcoming release, featuring one of my Symbiocene paintings on the CD cover.

Join us at the November album launch at World Heart Beat, London, where all six original Symbiocene sumi-e paintings will be exhibited and available for sale, along with limited edition prints and postcards.

The Symbiocene series celebrates the regenerative connections between people and nature.

The Community Kitchens Action Hub brings together the Chefs’ Manifesto community, OmVed Gardens, and The Good Kitchen for a full-day of collaboration and action. Participants will exchange ideas, share a collective meal, and hear directly from young chefs shaping the future of food. Together, we will spotlight the vital role of community kitchens and co-create strategies to sustain and strengthen these spaces for the years ahead. Chefs, young leaders, community organisers, educators, and change-makers working towards resilient community kitchens and stronger food systems to share, learn, and be inspired to collaborate towards a stronger future for community kitchens.

news LETTERS

once a season

spring — summer — autumn — winter

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