Off Site Project: RHS Chelsea Flower Show Installation

Coinciding with the return of the RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show 2021 from September 18 through to October 3, 2021, Saatchi Gallery is participating in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show featuring new works by British contemporary artist Dan Rawlings.

The installation at the weeklong show features new artworks by the artist set out to spark a dialogue about our interaction with nature and our dependency on industry including: ‘Delays Expected’ (2021), a steel forest shell hand cut into the walls of a repurposed transit van.

Set at the heart of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (stand number RHW281), the steel structures demonstrate Rawlings’ fascination with the resilience of nature with the ‘deserted’ vehicle swamped and almost overcome by the plants and foliage of the surrounding garden. Rawlings’ intricate hand cut process is created using a plasma cutter, a handheld torch that combines electricity and compressed air to cut through metal. Finer details are added with a variety of other specialised tools, guided by Rawlings’ preparatory painted sketches. The vehicle’s structure will be illuminated using hidden LED lights and will be lit deliberately at random – as if left wild, and free of human control. The garden will also be surrounded by reshaped traffic lights and roadworks signage resembling Rawlings’ steel cut foliage motif.

“We hear the phrases ‘net zero’ and ‘emissions targets’ daily, and it’s easy to tell ourselves that our problems are being dealt with, that we are on a smooth road out of environmental catastrophe. We can be diligent with our recycling, carbon offsets and reusable shopping bags, but these efforts are not enough, and the reality is that we are patching a potholed road. Traffic lights and roadworks interrupt the flower show, and weeds interrupt the roadworks. ‘Delays Expected’ is a utopian Atlantis – the spectre of a world that could be free.”
– British artist, Dan Rawlings

The installation will be on view at stand number RHW281, located on the major show thoroughfare Royal Hospital Way. Tickets are still available & can be purchased here:

Artworks: Dan Rawlings
Garden design: Dan Rawlings & Rae Wilkinson MSGD
Landscaping: Tecwyn Evans, Living Landscapes

RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 21 – 26 September 2021:
21 – 22 September: RHS members only, 8am-8pm
23 – 25 September: RHS members and non-members, 8am-8pm
26 September: RHS members and non-members, 8am-5.30pm
Tickets are still available & can be purchased here: www.rhs.org.uk

RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show 2021, Saturday 18 September – Sunday 3 October 2021:

Monday – Sunday, 10AM-6PM, Thursdays: 10AM-9PM
Tickets available on www.saatchigallery.com/rhstickets

ABOUT DAN RAWLINGS (b. 1979, London)

Dan Rawlings is a contemporary British artist born in Watford in 1979. He is known for his large-scale installations and intricate plasma-cut metal works. A sympathy for discarded objects and an admiration for nature’s resilience inspire him to create visions of a future where man’s impact is slowly reclaimed by nature. Notable recent projects include: ‘Future Returns’, a plasma-cut reclaimed oil tanker housed inside a 19thcentury church in Lincolnshire’s 20-21 Art centre, and ‘Short Haul’, an elaborately hand cut light aircraft shown at the Urban Nation Museum in Berlin during the 2019 Biennale. www.everyact.co.uk

ABOUT ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY (RHS)

The Royal Horticultural Society, the world’s leading gardening charity, was founded in 1804 by Sir Joseph Banks and John Wedgwood. Our vision is to enrich everyone’s life through plants and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place. This aspiration underpins all that we do, from inspirational gardens and shows, through our scientific research, to our education and community programmes such as Campaign for School Gardening and Britain in Bloom. We produce key publications, hold a world-class collection of horticultural books and botanical art, and sell the very best plants and gardening gifts.
The RHS is fundraising £40m to transform our gardens, outreach, and education facilities, which includes redeveloping our flagship RHS Garden Wisley and opening a new garden, RHS Garden Bridgewater, in 2021. We are solely funded by our members, visitors and supporters. For more information visit: www.rhs.org.uk