Lipstick Tree

‘Lipstick Tree’ is another piece inspired by my visit to Andromeda Botanic Gardens in Barbados, and a long-held fascination with the stories behind plants and their cultural uses.

The lipstick tree (Bixa orellana) produces spiky pods filled with bright red seeds. These contain a natural pigment, annatto, long used as a dye for body paint, food and lipstick.

The work reflects this through vivid, saturated colour and layered forms, capturing both the intensity of the plant and its connection to human use.