I have been putting together a series of drawings on medicinal plants for a new project. The work will first be exhibited early next year in a solo at Bradwolff Projects in Amsterdam. It is an ongoing project and I suspect it will take some years to complete. I already have numerous people to thank including of course several members of staff at Hortus Botanicus Leiden for steering me in the right direction, some excellent reading list suggestions and names of contacts who in turn have kindly helped me further. I couldn’t do this without your generous help.
W.J.Alphert’s book on Medicinal Plants from the collection of the Rijksmuseum (copyright Rijksmuseum)
I was recently invited to the research library of the Rijksmuseum where I saw the inspirational, illustrated “nature-printed” book on Medicinal Plants by W.J.Alpherts. It was my guide in creating my “Book of Cabbage”. I chose cabbage because it is a relatively humble vegetable, although now also seen as a “superfood” (includes all cultivars of broccoli) because it contains compounds considered as having cancer-protective properties. According to the Kew gardener’s companion to Medicinal Plants the leaves were used as remedies for wounds, ulcers, eczema and rheumatism.
The book of Cabbage is one of the numerous medicinal plants included in this series. I am fascinated by the plant forms and structure. The composition of the cabbage leaf is extraordinary. The medicinal plant project is a study of the uses historical and actual of plants that are disappearing rapidly from our surroundings and our knowledge is disappearing almost as quickly.
Several individual pages from the Book of Cabbage prior to binding.