Glasshouse Stories

The installation was selected as the winning proposal from an open commission organised by Brookfield Properties and AWITA, supporting new sculptural work by women artists in public spaces.

Created by Brighton-based artist Claudia Fontes, the installation explores the hidden lives of plants and the complex relationships between nature, history and migration. The exhibition is inspired by the recent relocation of plants from Kew Gardens’ historic Palm House to a new sustainable home - a moment of transition that reflects how plants, like people, move across places and cultures.

At the centre of the display are sculptural works developed from 3D scans of plant root systems. These intricate underground structures were digitally captured and translated into sculptural pictograms, revealing the entangled networks that support plant life but are rarely seen. The sculptures are made using plant-based resin, a natural substance that plants produce to protect and heal themselves.

Two major sculptures, ‘Choir’ and ‘HIP’, installed within the glass-fronted reception space of 100 Bishopsgate, creating the feeling of a modern conservatory in the heart of the City. Together, these works invite visitors to pause and consider themes of movement, resilience, and the interconnected histories of plants and people.

See below are behind-the-scenes images from the making of the artworks, as well as photographs from Kew Gardens, offering a glimpse into the research, scanning process and the plant environments that inspired the work.

Visitors are invited to look closely, reflect, and imagine new ways of understanding the living networks that shape our world.