Botanical Preserve

Commissioned: 2023 - 2028
Medium: Gold leaf
Dimensions: 80ft. X 25ft.

Commissioned by the City of West Palm Beach, Florida Artlife WPB

City of West Palm Beach Public Art Collection

BOTANICAL PRESERVE is an 80-foot gilded mural created entirely from metal leaf—a gold alloy hammered into micro-thin sheets more delicate than paper. No paint is used. Instead, the surface is constructed from over a thousand square feet of fragile metallic leaf, hand-applied in overlapping layers to form a continuous reflective surface of actual metal.

The work employs an innovative hybrid technique developed by the artist, merging centuries-old gilding practices with contemporary digital methods. Historically used to sanctify icons and royal ornament, gilding is reimagined here—scaled to a monumental surface and reshaped through ecological imagery. Through this transformation, the material shifts from symbolizing divinity and power to becoming a language for ecological reverence.

Designed as a living wall, the mural’s metal surface is intentionally exposed so it can react to the environment. As the gold alloy oxidizes over time, it develops colors and textures generated not by the artist, but by sun, rain, humidity, and coastal salt in the air—natural mark-making that records the wall’s ongoing encounter with its surroundings. Within this shifting metallic field, the botanical forms glow as if drawn in light itself—as if painted with the sun. They echo photosynthesis, rendering plants as energetic bodies animated by solar energy. Reflecting the shifting sky, the mural gleams at dawn, glistens at midday, and softly shimmers ember-orange at sunset, tracing the cycles of the day.

Across the mural, native Florida flora intertwine with plant species from around the world—some thriving, others endangered or extinct—coexisting within a single imagined global ecosystem. Root systems, fungi, and mycelial networks, normally hidden underground, are revealed to emphasize the reciprocity and interdependence that sustain life.

The mural’s monumental scale and use of a historically precious material intensify the urgency of conservation, asking: Must nature be gilded for its preservation? A nearby identification sign classifies each plant and fungus by ecological status, extending the work into a living index of interconnectedness.