THEODORE WINSLOW
(1838 - UNKNOWN)
Theodore Winslow was a significant figure in the field of botanical art, known primarily for his detailed illustrations of tropical South Asian plant species that were yet to be discovered.

After his youth in Havenwood, a small town in Sussex, he enlisted in the military. His service presented extensive travel opportunities, taking him to remote and uncharted regions, especially across Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

These experiences deepened his botanical knowledge while exposing him to the stark realities of colonial repression, profoundly impacting his perspectives on his own country and its foreign policies.

In a crucial turn of events, Winslow abandoned his life as a soldier to live among the native Asian communities, moving with them to a hidden region, now identified as the hinterland of Thailand. Many aspects of his life after this transformation remain unknown.

UNSEEN FLORA
Part of the wider Artificial Botany (2019) series, Unseen Flora (2023) shines a spotlight on the fantastical and surreal botanical illustrations created by four British scientists and artists: Charlotte Bancroft, Beatrice Hastings, Edmund Thorne and Theodore Winslow.

The series has as its focus the concept of truth, contextualised in the contemporary digital age where the boundaries between real and virtual seem to become more and more obscure. Unseen Flora wants to explore unreal but plausible histories through the visual depictions of the four illustrators, offering us an unprecedented glimpse into their imaginary botanical dimensions.

Founded in 2007, fuse* is a multidisciplinary art studio that investigates the expressive possibilities of emerging technologies, aiming to interpret the complexity of human, social and natural phenomena. Since its origins, the studio’s research has had as its primary objective the creation of multimedia installations and performances, produced with the goal of exploring the boundaries between different disciplines in pursuit of new connections between light, space, sound and movement.

fuse* private collection