After Glass

‘After Glass’ was an exhibition of new collaborative work by artists Rachel McBrinn and Alison Scott, made following a period of research and development at St Andrews Botanic Garden where they had been artists in residence. Working across moving-image, writing, and with a focus on archival materials, the work on display in the gallery centred around the recent decommissioning of the glasshouses at St Andrews Botanic Gardens and their research into the ideologies and histories these structures represent.

In the exhibition Rachel & Alison presented the figure of ‘the glasshouse’ as a structure intrinsically linked to power and privilege — with the artists bringing into focus specific histories relating to patriarchy and imperialism. The exhibition centred around their film, ‘After Glass’ which wove together both archival and found footage with their own research imagery, to unpick the different ways in which glasshouses have been employed to display, preserve, contain & eradicate particular species and narratives.

The exhibition toured between March and  May 2025. 

Thanks to St Andrews Botanic Garden & the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive. The research and development of this project was supported by Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals.