Green Unseen is the brainchild of third-year Plant Science student Eleanor Kilpatrick. Premiering at Lakeside Arts from Saturday 16 September to Sunday 5 November, the exhibition explored the hidden world of plants through the lens of a microscope, setting the pieces alongside paleolandscapes, illustrations of plant morphology, watercolours, herbarium specimens and fossils.

Culminating in a symposium, the exhibition was conceived, curated and hosted by Eleanor – a project that she took on alongside her full-time studies. We caught up with Eleanor to find out more about the experience.

Tell us a bit about the concept behind the exhibition.

The pieces on display were chosen to show how utterly important plant science is; how deeply connected everyone is to plants, even if they don’t realise it. Plant blindness [the inability to see or notice plants in one’s everyday life – ed] becomes a problem when we lose the inclination to care about plants, so with this exhibition we tried to reignite the love of plants, the environment and our relationship with them.

There’s so much rich history with plants. A weed here might be a sacred plant somewhere else, and I wanted to explore that.

How does one go from being a second-year Plant Science student to hosting their own art exhibition?

It actually began in my first year when I met Tom Hartman (Assistant Professor, Life Sciences). Tom was walking past with a trolley of bones and curiosity got the better of me! He invited me to view his collection of bones, animal artefacts and plant specimen slides, and that turned into some volunteer work helping to clean up the slides.

The slides seemed like such a great resource, so the initial idea was to create a database so that other plant-based academics, researchers or students at the university could access them. Then Tom mentioned that Lakeside Arts does collabs with people and pointed me towards the Cascade Grants funding programme.

I applied for the grant and met with Lakeside Arts, and they were happy to collaborate with us. Susie Lydon (Associate Professor of Plant Science) suggested that I approach Graham Seymour (Emeritus Professor of Plant Biotechnology) who does paleolandscapes and Andrew Clarke (Assistant Professor in Archaeogenetics) who supplied the herbarium specimens, and it just sort of grew from there!

It sounds like you threw yourself straight in. Did you ever have any doubts or did you feel confident about the whole thing?

As a mature student there have been times when I’ve felt anxious and out of place at university; times when I’ve not been sure if I’m able to do something or have the right skills. I was quite shy at the start of this project and nervous to jump into it. It just seemed like such a huge thing and something I couldn’t rise up to. Tom was really encouraging. He gave me the courage to take the first step and he was there supporting me and constantly telling me that I was able to do it.

What have been some of the more satisfying things about hosting this exhibition?

I’d say some of the comments and feedback on the gallery, and seeing the impact it’s had on such a wide range of people. Fashion students have used the exhibition for design inspiration, and I’ve had knitters tell me that it's influenced some of the patterns they’re creating. It’s nice to see it reach such a variety of ages and communities but for me, I love that it’s somewhere that science and art can be brought together.

What has been the most challenging part of this project?

Dealing with disappointment.

There were certain pieces that were going to be in the exhibition and required months of preparation and, at the last minute, we had to find an alternative supplier. It’s very stressful at the time and you have to think on your feet, especially with a deadline approaching.

At the end of the day, you’re not going to get on with everyone and people have different commitments – not everyone is going to prioritise you, and you need to understand that. You can’t be angry about it – you just need to get on with what you’re doing.

Thankfully I had an incredible support network. Everybody works differently and everyone communicates differently. Being able to adapt to that is challenging, but you learn how to adapt and how to alter the way you communicate with different people.

What do you think you’ve learnt from this experience?

What haven’t I learnt? I think that would be a shorter list! Anything associated with being a curator – project management, outreach, organisation skills. I’ve had training in how to handle delicate and old specimens, I’ve learnt how to use illustrator software, how to design merchandise – which colour frames look best in a gallery!

I’ve also learnt that if you have a little bit of self-doubt, that’s not going to disappear overnight. You get better through practice and you learn how to combat those thoughts. I didn’t think I was able to do this before I actually started doing it!

How did you balance it alongside your studies?

It’s tricky! Preparing the exhibition was difficult and required long days and lots of organisation. During term time I utilised days that I didn’t have class but much of the planning took place across the summer. I spent my whole summer working on it! But I still made time for hobbies and socialising.

What advice would you give to a student interested in pursuing a passion project alongside their studies?

Definitely make sure you’re talking to your lecturers. A lot of people are shy to talk to their lecturers and think they’re these big authority figures, but they’re just normal people! If you’re willing to stay behind and talk to them after class about something you’re interested in, you’ll find that they’re more willing to go out of their way to keep you informed and update you with opportunities.

But you need to take that first step and it can be a bit scary sometimes. Talk to your lecturers. Get to know them. Take an interest in what they’re doing and demonstrate that you want to be here at university. You’ll find that opportunities and resources come your way. If something captures your attention, just ask. People are often willing to give that energy back to you. The people who work here want to see you progress and achieve your potential but you need to take that first step and show them that you’re willing. How else will they know?

Would you do it again?

Yes of course, I would do it again. But I’d also happily try something completely new!

University gives you the opportunity to try new things without the pressure of it being a career commitment. I’ve gained a lot of confidence in what I can do if I put my mind to it. Especially when you have the huge amount of support that’s available at university. They’re always there, especially when I’m doubting myself.