Natural Interaction is Nick Jordan’s largest solo exhibition to date and features new films, prints, photographs, painting and sculptural works to explore the interdependencies between social and ecological healthcare and wellbeing. Drawing on the artist’s recent collaborations with ecologists, materials scientists, narrative therapists, genetic counsellors and medical geneticists, the work interconnects the lived experience of rare health conditions with the reciprocal behaviours and symbiotic systems found in nature.

Jordan's new film trilogy, Rare Frequencies, Genetic Sequences and The Entangled Forest, captures the unique features of ecologically diverse habitats which sustain many rare or endangered species, playing a vital role in mitigating the impacts of climate change. Combined with audio conversations on the importance of science and the lessons we can learn from nature, Jordan’s hybrid documentaries explore diverse landscapes and ecosystems, including restored peatlands, networks of mycelium, botanical gardens, urban woodlands and ancient forests; threading together themes of community and mutuality, resilience and renewal.

Each of the films feature an atmospheric and textural soundtrack score, recorded with traditional folk instruments, woodwind and analogue synths, composed by Otis Jordan (Rare Frequencies and Genetic Sequences) and Otis Jordan & Lord Mongo (The Entangled Forest).

Presented with the films are a series of new works by the artist, including mushroom spore prints presented as a family tree, archival botanical drawings, ephemera related to sphagnum moss and peat extraction, a greenhouse covered in electron microscope images of mycelium, and a living micro habitat of native peatbog mosses and plants.

from Natural Interaction exhibition guide

Feb 18 - June 4 2023, HOME, Manchester
Curated by Clarissa Corfe

Download the full Exhibition Guide pdf

installation photos: Michael Pollard / Nick Jordan