An exhibition at the Cleveland Botanical Garden features more than 30 artists whose work explores the role nature plays in overcoming painful emotions and experiences.
The botanical garden partnered with local gallery Deep Roots Experience to bring together The Nature of Healing, an exhibition exploring ways the outdoors can help process grief and trauma.
"We wanted to get a bunch of different artists together, some who've shown here, some who haven't, to create work specifically around the theme of mental health and grief," Exhibition Manager Ryan Sandy said, "and thinking about how you can use garden spaces and green spaces to foster positive mental health experiences in the community."
The partnership was five years in the making, Deep Roots CEO David Ramsey said, and the approach to the theme changed overtime.
"The initial name of the exhibition was 'In Loving Memory,' and that was tied to statistics that we found around the homicide rate in the city of Cleveland," Ramsey said. "We opened up the concept, changed the name to The Nature of Healing, which allows us to really tackle different areas where nature, greenery, plants can really be a tool to support the transition out of the challenging moments of grief and loss and trauma."
For multidisciplinary artist Lacy Talley, the theme manifested as sculpted busts inspired by her collection of crystals.
"It's called 'The Crystal Collective,' so it's my crystal ladies," Talley said. "Each lady represents the different crystals I carry on myself for protection of wisdom, so I wanted to showcase their gardens and the different healing properties that they offer."
Talley's collection features the 'Lady of Abundance and Prosperity,' inspired by citrine, a crystal Talley said is associated with wealth, the 'Lady of Serenity,' inspired by the gemstone jade, and other works.
"They represent the crystals I wear," Talley said, "but they also represent like protectors, ... like guardians."
Artist Christa "Freehands" Childs took an interactive approach in her piece.
"Nature in itself is just a cycle of healing, and I wanted to represent that in my piece, which is 'The Throne of Ease,'" Childs said. "It represents the seven stages of emotional healing through nature."
The throne, adorned with mirrors, flowers and greenery, invites visitors to sit with and reflect on the source of the grief, Childs said, moving out of the darkness and finding the light on the other side.
"On the back of the throne it says the wound is the place where the light enters you," she said. "That shows that even though you're feeling wounded, there's opportunity for something to come of it."
"'The Throne of Ease,' that's really, really, really detailed, very grand," Cleveland resident Lindsay Dunn said. "The mirrors, the lights, the detail, and then you sit on it, and then the message behind it is very beautiful."
Cleveland-based fine artist Davon Brantley invited visitors to sit with his installation, entitled Mass, a burlap hut decorated with grass and soil, and a clay torso representing life and death.
"Growing up in Cleveland, I've noticed that …. there's not, like, a lot of like sculptural altar-esque like spaces at all either for you have that time to just sit," Brantley said. "I wanted to create something huge like that where people are able to, like, sit in front of the sculpture speak with it or speak within themselves and also talk to the person that they had lost in the past."
The installation was inspired by one of his biggest supporters, his grandmother, who died from lung cancer when he was in high school.
"She was a really great part of my life," Brantley said. "When I lost her that was, like very heartbreaking for me. I didn't really deal with the emotions properly and it just prolonged for years of me like feeling this emptiness and wondering why I was going through like such anger in my heart."
With his piece, Brantley hopes visitors find healthy ways to process grief and loss.
"I don't just want them to feel like they have to immediately talk about their grief and what they're going through," he said. "I want them to be able to navigate that space a little bit more clearly and figure out what works for them and what doesn't."
The meditative elements of Brantley's piece stuck with visitors like Cleveland resident Dayja Smith.
"That is something that connects with me," Smith said. "I'm a Taurus, I'm an earth sign, so something that I do randomly is ground myself."
But what struck Smith most about The Nature of Healing exhibition is the diverse perspectives on the theme.
"I've been going to the Botanical Gardens all my life," she said. "I'm so grateful to see Black people and roots be presented in this space."
The exhibition is open through May 19, featuring portraits and paintings in addition to seven installations displayed throughout the garden.
