Planting Your Pride with MA Design Practice student Jenni Lloyd!
MA Design Practice student Jenni Lloyd has launched a new project that explores the queer history of flowers and their connection to the LGBTQ+ community. Speaking of the Queer Gardens Project created for her Extended Practice Module she said, “my response was to create and design a community focused project on planting your pride, exploring the queer history of flowers, and how they have been symbolically used to refer to the LGBTQ+ community. My project aims to tackle stereotype’s that have been targeted against the community for decades by showcasing how diverse and fluid expressions of gender and identity have been reflected in the natural world.”
The project culminates in a series of zines, “each of the zines focuses on a different flower: Pansy, Violet, and Lavender, and includes important planting and care information for that flower, while sharing small packets of the related flower seeds to get the community involved in planting their pride! The Queer Gardens project details the history of flowers that have been connected to the community for decades, dating back to as early as the works of Sappho and her inclusion of the Violet, to more modern work like the Pansy Project.”
Jenni said the initial idea for the project “stemmed from my research into identity and how it has been reflected in nature. From here I was able to look into Greek gods, mythology, queer poets, writers, and the name origins of flowers. My creative process leans more towards projects that allow me to be heavily researched based in the early weeks, and this project was no different with the accompanying essay exploring how poets have shaped the queer lens of nature.”
The project hopes to build a gardening community, inviting people to “interact and get involved, the aim is to invite the public to plant and cultivate their own gardens that reflect their personal journey and identity, expressing their pride, as we collectively celebrate the natural history of the community and embrace the natural worlds inclusive beauty.”
Jenni’s work also featured in this year’s Northern Art Gala, an annual postgraduate showcase of exhibitions that take place across the Tees Valley. Speaking of the experience she said, “creating work for public view was a key part of this module, ending in a collection of online and in-person exhibitions under the banner of The Northern Art’s Gala. While my project had mostly an online presence installing poster’s in public nature spaces allowed me to connect to the topic of the project while promoting the website and purpose of the Queer Gardens Project.”
Jenni continued “outside of this, I was able to be a part in a ‘POP of Pride’, a Non-profit LGBTQ+ pop-up shop taking place in Carlisle by a fellow Master’s student (@amgraphic_designs). Selling work by queer artists and pieces created about the community, I submitted copies of the zines that were sold for the week-long pop-up installation.”
Find out more about the Queer Gardens Project by visiting the website. Keep up to date with Jenni’s work by following her Instagram: @jlloydgraphics
If you are interested in taking your creative practice up to the next level, make sure you look at our postgraduate degree courses here.
