Newhaven Open: Cynthia Fan

Cynthia Fan is an artist and researcher whose practice explores the relationships between plants, people and their environments. With a background in plant science and a PhD in plant molecular biology from the University of Edinburgh and Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, her work brings scientific research into dialogue with visual and material forms.

Working across installation, exhibition-making and writing, Fan investigates plant morphology and the ways we observe, understand and represent living forms. Her practice is informed by close observation and an interest in the networks of interaction between plants and their surrounding environments.

Fan has presented her work internationally, both independently and as part of the collective PEAR_ED, and has curated projects at Ensō House in London. She has also contributed writing to Plant Magazine and was an artist-in-residence at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, continuing her engagement with the intersection of botanical science and artistic practice.