Juxtapoz Magazine - Georg Wilson "Against Nature" @ Pilar Corrias, London

"In Against Nature, Wilson continues to paint the 'para-pastoral', a strange, alternate version of the British countryside, where wild creatures inhabit an imaginary world devoid of humans. This new series of paintings focuses specifically on poisonous plant species and the onset of winter, exploring the more fearsome aspects of nature and moments in which the landscape itself may pose a threat to its inhabitants."

"The works explore the folklore and historic uses of uncultivated poisonous plants, species such as henbane, thorn-apple and nightshade that grow abundantly across the UK, that have long but frequently forgotten histories in both folk and modern medicine. Drawing on historic texts about poisonous flora, Wilson highlights the gradual erosion of plant knowledge in Britain, a process that began as early as the fifteenth century, following the enclosure of common land and the subsequent rise of industrialisation."

"Throughout the works, Wilson renders these plants as protagonists: at once sinister and alluring. The creatures populating the land still appear, though less prominently than in earlier work, lurking in the shadows. Lower in contrast, the paintings require the viewer to take time to discern intricate details, evoking a sense of the unknown that mirrors humanity's diminishing knowledge of the natural world."

Georg Wilson paints a para-pastoral British countryside inhabited by wild creatures and absent humans. The series centers on poisonous plant species and the onset of winter, exploring moments when the landscape itself threatens its inhabitants. The works examine folklore and historic uses of uncultivated poisons such as henbane, thorn-apple and nightshade and their forgotten roles in folk and modern medicine. Drawing on historic texts, the paintings highlight erosion of plant knowledge in Britain since the fifteenth century amid enclosure and industrialisation. Wilson renders these plants as sinister yet alluring protagonists; low-contrast compositions require slow looking and evoke the unknown. The paintings consider how poison, with proper knowledge and dosage, can become remedy.

Read at Juxtapoz