Moss and Lam create a maximalist botanical garden made out of sintered stone slabs

Beautiful and lush gardens come with an unending cycle of tedious maintenance processes such as watering or trimming. But what if their beauty could be retained without all the hassle? This botanical garden is a dream come true for all the plant-lovers born without a green thumb. Toronto-based custom art studio Moss and Lam sculpt Botánica, a composition of imaginary plants, playful aesthetics, and everlasting efflorescence. These elements of custom art set the stage at a launch event that Ciot, North America's leading retailer and importer of natural and engineered stone slabs and tile, and Neolith, global leader of sintered stone surfaces, co-hosted at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, earlier this year. Ciot, being in a long-term strategic partnership with Neolith, contacted the studio founded by Canadian artists Deborah Moss and Edward Lam to create a custom installation using sintered stones by the Canada-based company. “We wanted to create an artistic botanical garden with a whimsical, maximalist aesthetic that could seamlessly fit into the Museum’s minimalist architecture; a utopian vision where the real meets the imaginary”, shares Moss and Lam’s co-founder and creative director Deborah Moss.

In the midst of the rigid architecture of the art museum that embodies minimalism, Moss and Lam’s Botánica injects a vision of chaos and playful wackiness. The concept and aesthetic of the sculptural art are informed by the space it was supposed to inhabit. Aligning with the brief, Botánica was conceived to be a touring art installation, created in pieces such that they can be easily disassembled and put back together—evocative of children’s toys. “I first studied the space and its surroundings. The artwork had to inhabit the terrace of the museum, an austere structure with very crisp lines,” says Canadian artist Deborah Moss, principal and creative director of Moss and Lam. “I started thinking: wouldn’t it be nice to create an outdoor garden that counteracts this beautiful minimalism?”

Mirroring the scenery that unfolds beyond indoor environments—natural landscapes that constantly grow and transform—Moss and Lam’s immersive installation is a whimsical jewel adorning the space. Botánica demands the eye and the mind trail and wander by reimagining reminiscent gardens and forests—the spaces that ornament our dreams. Neolith’s sintered stone slabs are configured in different patterns and shades of grey, black, and white, interlaced to breathe life into dimensional sculptures with a unique essence, concocting otherworldly landscapes that bring back memories of building toys. "I am always interested in the relationship between bespoke art and space, which can really reinforce the message or mood that I am hoping to recreate in any environment," shares Moss. "We are further exploring the possibilities of making artworks that can be disassembled and repurposed in different environments," she adds.

Moss and Lam’s ethos revolves around the idea that art possesses the power to impact people’s imagination; they make you feel and dream. The studio combines different disciplines, from painting to architecture and sculpture to create large-scale installations for hospitality and retail settings—enhancing public spaces with whimsy and wit. In pursuit of the beyond, where “outside is inside and the inside is outside,” nature infiltrates the museum’s terrace to unite with its surroundings. Beauty, sustainability, and playfulness—which have long guided the bespoke art studio based in Toronto—were the pillars supporting the development of the temporary installation. “My approach comes from the things I love, that I’ve seen and that I’ve lived: studying art in college taught me to synthesise and to understand the power of colour; my love for films taught me to create cinematic angles and compositions studied down to the last detail; while my interest in collecting memorabilia from markets all over the world has a great impact on the whimsical aesthetic of my work,” says Moss. “Botánica is the result of all these creative components coming together,” she adds.

With Moss and Lam’s Botánica, natural elements morph into visionary plants that weave the illusion of being surrounded by an oasis of greenery, a place where one can escape and dream. Following its grand debut at the Aga Khan Museum, Botánica will be showcased in select Ciot showrooms across Canada and the United States, spanning from Toronto to Québec City, Atlanta, Detroit and to New York.