'Kingdoms within Kingdoms' - Cynthia Hammond’s research-creation in a French garden, 2023-26

On view August-September 2026

Curation and text by Amanda Zhang, Graduate Certificate in Curatorial Practices & Studies

Gardens are an art form in a constant state of change, playing host to intricate living networks of plants, animals, and humans. In these verdant microcosms, interspecies relationships are lovingly and painstakingly cultivated. Yet the pursuit of botanical beauty reveals an impulse to curate, even to impose aesthetic control over nature.

Dr. Cynthia Hammond’s site-responsive work on the gardens of Château de La Napoule, created by self-taught architect and landscape designer Marie Clews (1880-1959), brings to light the inter-war period, when these grounds were home to a menagerie of all-white exotic birds who were specifically chosen for their colour and appearance. The title, Kingdoms within Kingdoms, was drawn from Clews’s writings shortly before her passing, in which she reflected on the interconnected worlds of flora and fauna over which she had reigned while transforming the site into a protected heritage site and artists’ retreat.

Kingdoms within Kingdoms: Les Jardins de Marie was shown at the Château de la Napoule in February-March 2026. This reprise of Hammond’s residencies, research, and exhibition brings together her paintings, sketches, archival images, and ephemera from her research-creation process, tracing the tensions and tenderness that converge in the making of this enchanting and storied space.

Learn more about Cynthia Hammond’s research and the gardens of Château de La Napoule by visiting the foundation's website.