OLana Light

The Magical Garden

Artist-in-Residence Project

Photography, sculpture, and film

Botanical Residency Hugo Burge Foundation

Marchmount Estate, Lower Powerhouse, Duns, Scottish Border, TD10 6YQ

August, 2024

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​During my residency, I developed a site-specific body of work titled The Magical Garden. This collection includes self-portrait photography, inspired by the Walled Gardens and surrounding landscape of Marchmont Estate. The project explores my relationship as a woman with nature and the environment.

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Immersed in the landscape, I reflect on an intrinsic connection between body and environment, where nature becomes both material and collaborator. Through wearable sculptures made from natural elements sourced on site, I inhabit forms that merge with the surroundings, dissolving the boundary between self and landscape.

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By embodying these sculptural forms, I explore transformation, presence, and belonging. Nature becomes more than a backdrop; it is a space of emotional and sensory connection, where I feel deeply grounded and alive. At the same time, the work acknowledges the fragility and vulnerability of natural ecosystems, highlighting the need for care and preservation.

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The materials used in this project were gathered from the Walled Garden and the wider Marchmont Estate, with the support of the garden team. This sustainable approach allows the work to remain rooted in its environment, creating a dialogue between place, material, and identity.

Ultimately, The Magical Garden invites reflection on our interconnectedness with the natural world and encourages a deeper awareness of our place within it

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The Magical Garden DS, photography

The Magical Garden WRS, photography