About Janet Howkins
For almost 20 years, Janet Howkins has developed an artistic practice rooted in a lifelong fascination with plants, history, medicine, death, decay and the darker curiosities of the natural world.
Her practice began with close observation and preservation of plant structures and the translation of living botanical forms into sculpture. Using traditional casting techniques with clay and plaster, Janet records the intricate details of leaves, stems and flowers, creating sculptural herbaria that preserve their physical presence. By removing colour from the botanical form, the casting process reveals the architecture and anatomy of the plant, encouraging a different way of looking.
Over time, this process of observation has evolved into a research-led practice exploring the complex histories attached to plants. Her work draws on botanical science, medicinal history, toxicology, folklore and the cultural uses of plants, with a particular interest in the territory where knowledge, belief and superstition overlap.
Janet is drawn to the stories that sit beyond conventional botanical narratives: poisonous plants and forgotten remedies, unconventional medicine and quackery, plants associated with death and mourning, historical treatments, apothecary traditions, antiques and objects of curiosity. These subjects reflect longstanding personal interests in collecting, oddities and the often unsettling relationship between humans and the natural world.
Her approach is to deconstruct the plant to construct the story, using sculpture as a means of examining the histories, beliefs and human behaviours that have grown around it.
This evolution has led to The Black Herbarium: Museum of Dark Botany, an ambitious immersive museum project bringing together Janet's artistic practice, historical research and lifelong fascination with botanical curiosities. Drawing on the traditions of natural history collections, medical museums, apothecaries and cabinets of curiosity, the project explores the darker cultural histories of plants through sculpture, objects, specimens, archival material and installation.
The Black Herbarium extends Janet's practice beyond the individual botanical specimen into a wider exploration of the relationships between plants, medicine, science, folklore and death. It is an evolving collection and creative research project, shaped by the discoveries made through ongoing investigation.
Alongside her studio practice, Janet has developed projects and workshops within heritage and botanical contexts, including work with the Royal Horticultural Society at RHS Bridgewater, Ormesby Hall, Capesthorpe Hall, Didsbury Parsonage and the Museum of Wigan Life. She has also undertaken large-scale private commissions for international clients, including a permanent site-specific installation at Cotton House Spa on the island of Mustique.
Her solo exhibition Fragile Nature explored the fragility and transience of heritage plant forms through sculptural casting, drawing on the historic gardens of Didsbury Parsonage. The project reflected Janet's continuing interest in seasonality, memory, heritage and the impermanence of the natural world.
Her work entwines art, science and history, combining traditional making processes with contemporary research and installation. Site, provenance and context remain important to her practice, whether working with historic gardens, heritage buildings, private collections or commissioned spaces.
Janet is based in the UK and works across sculpture, installation, research and commissioned projects nationally and internationally. Her practice continues to evolve through an ongoing investigation into the strange, beautiful and sometimes disturbing histories held within the botanical world.