Urban Antibodies (360G-Wellcome-210373_Z_18_Z)

Urban Antibodies is a long-term project that imagines the city as a living organism, looking at sites of toxicity and vulnerability, healing and care - with a focus on plant knowledge and medicine. The project draws on historical research into the development of pharmaceutical drugs based on plants, with a focus on the Boots Archive (Nottingham) and Wellcome Library (London). I will research specific plants and their stories - with a particular focus on the import of ‘exotic’ plants through the era of British colonialism, the development of botany as a discipline and the development of major pharmaceutical drugs from plants. I will also be exploring specific urban sites to investigate histories of industrial pharmaceutical companies in relation to local plant knowledge, the role of women in the development of medicinal knowledge, and the institutionalisation of medicine. Through the research process I will gather material to generate new artwork, including site-based performance, video, print-making and writing.