Understorey : A Year Among Weeds with Anna Chapman Parker

Art history, botany, ecosystems: Understorey follows Chapman over the course of a year as she observes the strange, tenacious plants we call weeds, offering a powerful study of what is gained when we pay attention to the smallest things.

Understorey follows Chapman over the course of a year as she observes these strange, tenacious plants, and meditates on how artists and writers throughout history have portrayed them, from the bramble framing a sixth-century Byzantine manuscript to a kudzu vine installation in contemporary Frankfurt. Beautifully illustrated throughout, it is a book that explores what is gained when we pay attention to the smallest things.

Anna Chapman Parker is an artist, writer and teacher with a particular interest in drawing. She trained at the University of Edinburgh and Wimbledon College of Art. Her exhibitions and teaching collaborations have included projects with Edinburgh Art Festival, The University of Glasgow and the National Trust. Her writing has appeared in The Scotsman, MAP, Rake’s Progress and Happy Hypocrite. She lives in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Understorey is her first book.