blithe germ: drawing attention to the

ephemeral and unnoticed

An interview with blithe germ by Jessica Kashdan-Brown

blithe germ is a London-based artist and graduate from the Slade School of Fine Arts. She works across multiple disciplines – sculpture, photography, drawing, animation, print, sound and text – drawing attention to the ephemeral and unnoticed with the intent to nurture, care, and revalue. She has chosen the lowercase artist name, ‘blithe germ’ as a kind of artistic counter to what she deems in one artwork as the antiquated, hierarchical and strange modern English logic of capitalisation. The first name ‘Blythe’ is translated into the adjective ‘blithe’, and the surname ‘cheung’ (zoeng1) is translated into the noun, germ, “because the similarity in the pronunciation is uncanny”, allowing for the interchangeability of being and being called: “Hello, I am a (my name is) blithe germ.”

When asked about the kind of work she creates and why, germ says that “through seemingly futile acts of repair, nurture, and care for dried plant matter, I express the tension of our relationship with lost and damaged habitats.” Thus, she explains, “by scavenging and repurposing manmade or natural materials, I cultivate ecological awareness, to provoke action and to practice circularity and the art of noticing.” germ’s works are immersive, tactile, playful, and delicate all at once. “I create installations that offer room for contemplation,” she says, “where human perspective and scale are temporarily suspended, for the audience to reflect upon the ambiguous, small, and transitory evidence of non-human experience. With this gentle, yet potentially charged endeavour, I am hoping to enable more reparative and sustainable ways of co-existing with nature.”

Oxalis the Butterfly. Pressed leaf of oxalis, 10 x 7 cm, 2021. “Since living in Somerset, I began my collection of pressed flowers and leaves. This is one of the creatures that has metamorphosized into being since.”

Oxalis Catcher. Processed branches, pressed leaves, adhesive, wire, variable dimensions, 2023.

Seeing blithe germ’s artwork in person is an absolute delight: dried husks are transformed and given new life; fragile, broken things are combined into new beings; lines and shapes from plants and found objects are brought into beautiful combinations and stark relief, making you see and appreciate them anew; living things crawl out from the cracks – growing from window sills and little nooks – and anthotype prints hang from the ceiling, the ghostly images fading through the day like afterimages on your eyelids slowly disappearing, beautifully capturing the essence of the ephemeral and transient.

Components. Sculptures of various found materials, sizes vary, 2019.

Because I’m working with living objects, with living things, I feel it’s only natural for me to be more understanding and respectful and considerate.

Much of germ’s sculpture work centres around found objects and elements from nature. “A lot of what I collect and put into my work comes from chance encounters, and I like this unpredictability, the multitude of possibilities hidden around us.” From plant matter woven into cord and collected rocks, nettle juice made into pigment and delicate pressed flowers, shells and everyday objects that have been reclaimed or mended, her work is an ode to the unnoticed beauty in the world around us, revaluing and cultivating ecological awareness through every work of art. 

“There’s something quite different, say, working with a piece of plywood that’s available in all seasons all year round, compared to working with a found twig only occurring at a particular time or season,” she says, reflecting on her use of found elements. “There’s this chance element, this spontaneity, that I can’t replicate with something I can just get online. In that sense, it brings me closer with nature to work with found pieces because I see it in a different light, I feel much closer, much more connected with it. I think it makes me more aware of my surroundings,” she adds, “because I’m working with living objects, with living things, I feel it’s only natural for me to be more understanding and respectful and considerate.”

Ms. Speckled Bush. Anthotype on reclaimed scrim, stinging nettles emulsion. 150 x 215 cm. 2022.

A Rare Find. Artist’s photograph on etched copper plate, plant matter, reclaimed trash and found holes on wall. 38 x 42 x 15 cm. 2022

Before any sculpture begins, germ works through a meticulous process of care: cleaning, filing, braiding, paring, scraping, washing, staining, and filling, amongst other rituals. These are all part and parcel of the works of art themselves, and as a result, a great astuteness and awareness as well as care and gentleness resonates through each work. 

Caring Practice. Plant matter, tissue paper, recycled tin can and glass jar, sandpaper, found metal tray. Dimension varies, 2022.

When asked about how she hopes her artwork might influence perspectives and behaviour surrounding nature and the climate emergency, she replies: “As much as I hope my art can inspire many and perhaps could change behaviour overnight, I don’t think it’s going to happen as snappily as that. So, for me, it’s more of a personal step I take because I believe it’s important. It’s as simple as practising what I preach. Hopefully, maybe, some visitors of my work will notice these details and my use of materials and perhaps that will allow them to reflect on their own ways of doing and working. It might allow them to question the sustainability of their own practice, or reassess what they discard, but that’s all a bonus. It’s more about starting from myself, and hopefully, the ripple will carry momentum and spread further afield.”

The power of art in addressing the climate crisis, blithe adds, lies in how it inspires hope, which inspires action, holding the power to change attitudes and behaviours. 

germ draws inspiration from many sources, but mostly from where she spends her time and how she spends it. “The places that I go the most, the conversations that I have, the books that I read,” these all seep into her work and become a part of it. “Some authors who have influenced how I engage with nature are people like Robin Wall Kimmerer who wrote Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss, and Anna L. Tsing who wrote The Mushroom at the End of the World. There is so much love and power and care in their words, which I really admire and want to harness.”

Outlaws, from blithe germ’s artist book Compost Heap, 2023. An example of how germ uses words, language, etymology and music as forms of art.

“If we’re talking about particular works of art though, one name that immediately springs to mind is Veronica Ryan.” Alison Jacques responded to Veronica Ryan’s 2022 exhibition at the Alison Jacques art gallery, saying: “This fluidity of meaning is exemplary of the way Ryan’s ideas float through her distinct bodies of work: everything is connected, all is in flux. It is for this reason that, even when Ryan reorients her focus from organic matter to man-made objects, she remains attentive to the residue and accretion of experienced life.” 

“This comment particularly resonates with me,” germ says. “It’s almost like she was describing my work. Perhaps I want my work to exude a similar sensibility, attentiveness, and warmth. Her use of found materials, materials that are generally quite disposable, and the way she uses these materials in her work, it’s so transformative for me.”

In germ’s more recent work, she has been exploring the introduction of movement and motion into her sculptural work. “I’ve noticed how, when my sculptures can move – let’s say when the butterflies can fly in the wind – it always creates some kind of excitement in the people who see it, who witness it. I really want to create more of these moments in my work, so I’m currently trying to deliberately create that movement.”

Flight Pattern. Photo transfer on Somerset & Fabriano paper, edition of 20, 20 x 20 cm. 2022.
Made by accumulating 20 different images of drawings into one single image.

Angel. Hand-drawn animation, duration varies, 2022.

At the Riverbed Where I Found You a Heart Shaped Rock. Hand-drawn animation, duration varies, 2022.

You can find more of blithe germ’s work through Instagram and her website.

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Author’s Comment

Environmental art can be a powerful tool for reimagining our relationships and entanglements with the world, and that’s a big part of the reason why I love blithe germ’s artwork so much. She pulls our focus to the small, often passed-over plants and matter that surrounds us, the ghosts of things, the ephemeral and transient nature of life. Her work asks us to re-examine these elements, combining found objects and found elements in ways that directly highlight human and non-human entanglement and restore a sense of enchantment and wonder to our daily interactions.

Art has the power to change the way we think, to crack open our cemented habits, worldviews, and opinions, to invite us to open up our imaginations. blithe germ’s artwork does this beautifully, and as she says, by starting with herself and her practice and imbuing each artwork with care and curiosity, revaluing the discarded and unnoticed, the impact of her work ripples outwards. It has already deeply moved me, and I hope that by sharing it in this space, that impact might spread even further.