Lockdown 2020 Garden Animation

Born and raised in Brixton and later in Somerset, I'm inspired by both the city and the countryside, which is why I love spending time in London's Parks. In 2017 I designed a collection of home ware inspired by Brockwell park and Peckham Rye park to sell at local markets and online. I spent many weekends over the last two years on my stall at Herne Hill Market, right by Brockwell Park, selling my Walled Garden and Duck Pond inspired mugs. The Walled Garden is one of my favourite places in the world, I grew up just around the corner from the park and my formative years were spent there, learning to ride a bike, and playing hide and seek in the Walled Garden. The atmosphere and the beauty of this garden have stayed with me all my life.

The park theme has become especially relevant during the Coronavirus crisis, as parks are the one place we can be outdoors to enjoy nature and just recently, a bit of company. This year the beauty of Spring growth has been vital in lifting our spirits and keeping us sane: celebrating our urban parks and gardens is more important now than ever.

Here are some illustrations and animations I’ve been working on during the lockdown, keeping myself busy by drawing and creating a botanical world indoors. In order: they are The Walled Garden, Vase of Spring Flowers, and Lockdown 2020 Garden. The first two pieces are collaborations with Tiger Lily Raphael, who wrote the poems.

Please visit my Instagram page Mahla.Bess to view the animations in full, you can find the link at the bottom of the page. And if you'd like to look at more of my work, including my ceramics, you can to go to my website, also in the links below.