New exhibition at Gressenhall sheds light on microscopic worldsThrough the Microscope: secrets of Norfolk’s changing landscape with Edible East

at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse

17 March – 1 November 2025
Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse is delighted to present ‘Through the Microscope: secrets of Norfolk’s changing landscape with Edible East’, a new exhibition which sheds light on microscopic worlds to mark 400 years since the term ‘microscope’ was first coined.

Opening on 17 March when the popular rural museum and farm re-opens for the new season, the exhibition brings together art and cutting-edge science in a fascinating journey of discovery.
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Artists Jennie Pedley and Tara Sampy and horticulturalist Nik Thomson of Edible East have been exploring how the use of the microscope links us to environmental stories of Norfolk. To create the exhibition, they have drawn on research taking place at the John Innes Centre (JIC) and The Centre for Microbial Interactions, both based at Norwich Research Park, as well as the historic collections of the John Innes Foundation and Gressenhall. The project is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
The partnership between Edible East and the rural life museum is rooted in a mutual respect for the environment and Norfolk’s landscape. Drawing from insights and images offered by plant scientists, microbiologists and archivists, Edible East invite us to take a close look at how these tiny worlds play a crucial role in shaping our environment. From waterways of the Norfolk Broads to soil health, crops and our own gut microbiome, the artists explore how microscopic ‘landscapes’ affect the delicate balance we all rely on.

Artwork on display includes large-scale drawings, collage, plant prints of crops being bred to cope with climate change and installations inside a model theatre. The exhibition offers a visual and playful way into worlds seen through the microscope.
These new works sit alongside early examples of scientific equipment on loan from the John Innes Foundation Historical Collections and rare books from the archives of the John Innes Foundation which present some of the earliest illustrations of plants made with the help of the first microscopes.

The artists will also create new microscope-inspired work with participants from local community groups at Gressenhall. This part of the project will culminate in an outdoor trail which will be available to visitors in time for the school summer holidays.
Claudia West, Director, East of England, Arts Council England, said: “Through the Microscope is a brilliant example of how art can inspire the public’s curiosity and engagement in science. By blending scientific research with creative expression, this exhibition offers a fascinating glimpse into the microscopic worlds that shape our lives. We are proud to support Edible East in bringing this unique project to Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, helping to connect communities in Norfolk with the science that underpins our environment and food systems."

Councillor Margaret Dewsbury, Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnerships, Norfolk County Council, said: "It is a pleasure to see the fruits of this Norfolk-wide partnership between artists, scientists and our very own museums service in this year's exhibition at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse. Edible East artists Jennie Pedley and Tara Sampy have worked with curator Rachel Kidd to produce a fascinating exhibition which celebrates the world-class work of scientists at Norfolk's John Innes Centre. Visitors from across the county as well as further afield will enjoy the creative responses to the world as seen through the microscope."    

Rachel Kidd, curator at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse said: “As the home of Norfolk’s rural life collection, it’s really important that Gressenhall continues to engage with the issues facing rural Norfolk today. This includes food security and growing food in the context of climate change and a loss in biodiversity. Art is a fantastic gateway into these topics. Visitors will be able to enter the mesmerising world of microscope images reimagined by Edible East, while engaging with some of the most challenging issues facing people in Norfolk today.”

Sarah Wilmot, Outreach Curator, John Innes Historical Collections, said: “‘The microscope books on loan from the John Innes Centre are part of an impressive library of rare books covering natural science and botanical art across five centuries. Starting in the seventeenth century we see the microscope was at once the most exciting tool of discovery. For the first time the world of the ‘infinitesimally small’ was made visible, from a flea’s foot to the structures under a leaf’s surface, every microscope image opened a new vision of nature. Later microscope studies show that many advances in biology have depended on more and more powerful microscopes and the ability to interpret the images”.

Jennie Pedley, artist and member of Edible East said: “Through meetings with archivists and researchers we are learning about the need to restore the delicate balance of microscopic life in the soil, in plants and in ourselves. I am loving looking at the past, present and future of the Norfolk environment through the lens of the microscope!

We hope people visiting the exhibition enjoy the playful artwork, where the minuscule becomes monumental in plant cells containing the silhouettes of scientists who are doing the work of microscopic creatures. You can peek into papercut model theatre sets and underwater scenes and see chromosomes floating like guardian angels above the landscape. We will be continuing this playful approach at workshops and further exhibits throughout the year.”
Tara Sampy, Artist and member of Edible East said: “This project is giving me permission to have fun with the science, and play with scale, exploring the ‘director’ and ‘performer' roles we have in our landscape”

Nik Thomson, Horticulturalist and member of Edible East said: “It’s a privilege to experience people’s excitement when they see plants and soil under magnification; the unveiling of a secret world that drives the imagination and shows how interdependent the world is. The study and understanding of nature is so important for all of our futures.”
Building on a well-established relationship with John Innes Centre, Edible East are taking part in a residency which began in October 2024. The programme is giving the group a unique perspective into the research taking place across the county, as they engage with scientists at the frontline of food security.

The artists drew inspiration from the cutting-edge scientific imagery being generated by scientists such as Eva Wegel and Susan Duncan at John Innes Centre and The Centre for Microbial Interactions. Much of the work has been inspired by the use of traditional plant breeding to grow resilient wheat and brassicas. Visitors to the exhibition will see beautiful blue-stained microscope images of oil seed rape seeds. The work highlights research into the mechanisms behind the early shattering of oil seed rape pods, one of the county’s most significant cash crops and a Norfolk success story. Scientists often add fluorescent dyes to plant tissue to reveal different parts of cells, then image them using high-tech microscopes. These visual devices have served as inspiration to the artists whose print-making and collages feature striking and contrasting colours.
Edible East are known for their playful interventions and co-creation of work with participants. Visitors to the exhibition will see silhouette portraits of JIC and Gressenhall staff members shrunk down to inhabit tiny landscapes inside roots and leaves. Here the artists creatively explore the work of microscopic fungi and bacteria in the soil rhizosphere which are vital for healthy plant growth. Scientific research into the shape of adaxial cells on petals has generated microscope images with landscape-like contours which inspired sculpture made out of the type of glassine paper bags used to cover the flowers of plants in the JIC greenhouses.

As the unifying element in this wide-ranging exhibition, the microscope itself offers a starting point for understanding how both plants and humans live in symbiosis with microscopic life. The microscope helps us understand our relationship with the landscape in which the production of food has to be balanced with care of nature.
The year of the exhibition is significant: 2025 marks 400 years since the first use of the term ‘microscope’. (Lenses made from polished glass had been used to magnify objects for hundreds of years before the invention of the microscope. But it was only in the 1600s, with the invention of the compound light microscope, that the instrument truly began to transform our understanding of the natural world).

Scientific equipment on loan from the John Innes Foundation Historical Collections includes a replica seventeenth century ‘simple microscope’ designed by Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723). Van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to observe bacteria and became known as the father of microbiology. The work of this pioneering scientist helped established research into plant anatomy.

Fascinating illustrations of plants made with the use of early microscopes are on display in a number of rare and facsimile books on loan from the archives of the John Innes Foundation. Visitors will be able to get close to a facsimile copy of Robert Hooke’s ‘Micrographia’ (meaning ‘small drawings’) which was first published in 1665 and represents the first major publication of the Royal Society. The work was incredibly popular and includes detailed engravings of creatures such as the flea which were seen in detail for the first time.

‘The Anatomy of Plants’ by Nehemiah Grew, also from the seventeenth century, showcases cross-sections of various parts of plants including a striking illustration of a young borage leaf (see image). Grew is regarded as a founder of plant anatomy and was one of the first scientists to map out the structure (morphology) of plants. Visitors to the exhibition will see the impact of these early pioneers reflected in the artwork on display.
Some of the stories explored in the exhibition are more personal in origin. Artist Jennie Pedley has loaned a microscope and series of slides which once belonged to her great-grandfather Edgar Pedley, a bookkeeper in a Yorkshire textile mill. In his spare time, Edgar qualified as a teacher of horticulture and gave public lectures on plant science, inspiring others to explore the natural world.

Following in his footsteps, the artists will create new microscope-inspired work with participants from local community groups at Gressenhall. The project will culminate in an outdoor trail which will be available to visitors in time for the school summer holidays. Two members of Edible East, Nik Thomson and Jennie Pedley will also be on site at Gressenhall’s Earth Day celebrations which will this year take place during the Easter holidays on Friday 11 April.
For further information, images or if you would like to book a time to preview the exhibition, contact: Esther Morgan, Communications Manager, Norfolk Museums Service,
[email protected]