Yan Wang Preston

Yan Wang Preston, as part of her residency at RHS Bridgewater, has developed three distinct bodies of work each interpreting her surroundings in the gardens through an original perspective. Throughout 2026, these projects will be shown: across RHS Bridgewater (with two separate projects being displayed in different areas of the garden), at Open Eye Gallery (where the research and experiments from her residency have been displayed) and at Salford Museum and Art Gallery, where her collective histories and memory gathering project – Memory Keepers, will culminate in an exhibition.

The Perfect Flower

All in One. From The Perfect Flower series, 2025 ©Yan Wang Preston

The Perfect Flower asks: What is a perfect flower? How do we go about getting them? Why such an impulse? Throughout 2025, Yan followed RHS Bridgewater’s spectacular Hydrangea paniculata trial in order to answer these questions. She observed the tender care of the RHS trials team, shadowed the judging panel, overheard visitors’ marvels and chased the origins of these flowers. The outcome is a multimedia exhibition tailored for the Potting Sheds at RHS Bridgewater. From tracing the very first hydrangea specimen to reach this country, to a dazzling film projection of their perpetual flowers and a series of playful portraits with dried flower heads, the exhibition shares Yan’s fascination towards the hydrangeas, while inviting viewers to reflect on their own search for the perfect flower.

Goose Poo and Rainbow

A bricked marked with the name 'Middle Wood' is photographed in black and white, it is tilted on a ping pong ball and is photographed against a black background with side lighting.

Brick and ball. From Goose Poo and Rainbow series, 2025. ©Yan Wang Preston

Goose Poo and Rainbow is inspired by Yan’s time in Middle Wood. The project name references a meeting with one of RHS Bridgewater’s volunteers. One day Margaret arrived to lead a Tai Chi class at the garden, only to find the lawn carpeted with Canada goose poo. After a frantic clean-up, she invited the group to inhale and imagine a fine drizzle, just as rain began to fall. She then joked about picturing a rainbow, and one appeared. Rooted in the historical Middle Wood, the garden holds memory, magic and mischief. These photographs capture objects found in Middle Wood, staged to echo a history as rich as a rainbow and as unruly as the geese.

Memory Keepers

Memory Keepers comprises a combination of photographic practice and memory gathering in response to the oldest tree at RHS Bridgewater. This magnificent sweet chestnut tree, estimated to be 300 years old, stands near the historic site of Worsley New Hall. If trees are memory keepers, what might this tree recollect from the past three centuries? Artwork, garden artefacts and notes showing Yan’s research and experimenting during the Memory Keepers project were displayed at Open Eye Gallery during LOOK Climate Lab until 29 March 2026. The project will culminate in an exhibition at Salford Museum and Art Gallery from 22 October 2026 to 28 February 2027.