‘It doesn’t matter what creed or religion you are, botanical art crosses all boundaries.”
From a tiny mustard seed to a majestic date palm, from obscure desert plants to well-known culinary staples such as garlic and olives, all are magnificent when painted by acclaimed botanical illustrator Sue Wickison.
In June, the New Zealand artist was the recipient of the 2023 Jill Smythies Award for “outstanding diagnostic illustration in botanical art” by the Linnean Society of London, the world’s oldest active society devoted to natural history. It’s a remarkable accolade for Wickison and recognises both her history of botanical illustration and her current work illustrating Plants of the Qur’ān – History and Culture.
Her Plantsof theQur’ānis the completion of an eight-year partnership with senior botanist Shahina A Ghazanfar from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London, a mission to illustrate every plant mentioned in the Qur’ān. It is the first book to explore and highlight the cultural history of the 30 most-mentioned plants in the holy book of Islam.
The book is particularly timely, as the natural habitats of many plant communities and animals have either changed or are being lost as a result of global climate warming and human settlement. With many species no longer
