It is a real pleasure to announce the winner of the 2023 Christ’s College Art Prize. This year’s subject was Reframing Our Heritage, and it gave rise to entries brilliant, quirky and imaginative.
The winner is Kristina Kordova, a PhD student in the Department of Veterinary Medicine, whose research focuses on the use of machine learning in bacterial genomics. Her oil painting, entitled 'Sisters of Migration’, is a beautiful and academic study, which intrigued the judges as much for its place within a painterly tradition as for its redemptive message. Kristina writes, 'Across the 17-19th century, amidst a backdrop of migration and colonisation, multiple plant species also embarked on remarkable journeys spanning cultures and continents. John Tradescant the Younger set off for North America amassing a huge collection of seeds, including the native yellow jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens) while his later successor John Middlemist travelled to China to collect the blossoms of Middlemist's Red camellia. From the vast expanses of Africa, other plants were also making their mark. Chlorophytum tuberosum, a native of the continent, showcased its vibrant foliage, adding a touch of African allure to botanical collections around the world. Similarly, the Rosa abyssinica, the only native African rose species, enchanted admirers far from its Ethiopian homeland.
The painting Sisters of Migration depicts these flowers, reflecting the exchange of knowledge, cultures, and resources that defined an era. Today, the Middlemist's Red camellia stands as a rare relic of the past, with only two specimens remaining: one in the green house of Chiswick House & Gardens, London and another in Treaty House, New Zealand. It serves an example of a multitude of endangered species, their habitats eroded by loss of habitat, climate change and over cultivation, but are still preserved in the diverse families of plants in the British and college gardens. Ongoing discussions of reintroducing specimens to their native countries allows us to reframe our dark heritage of colonialism and migration by redefining our botanical future.’
Thanks to everyone who contributed, to the members of the College’s Visual Arts Committee who did the judging, and to Martin Johnson for the generous donation that makes this annual prize possible.
