Wardat al-Mustashar, or The Adviser’s Flower: Wardian Cases (2025 - in progress).
***The following text was developed and proposed for a research and artwork commission that ultimately did not materialize. I am in the process of proposing it to other institutions, research grants/residencies, and public commissions. As such, I would appreciate it if the work was not shared and this link is kept private. My thanks in advance.***
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I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This proposal builds upon an ongoing research project that explores the unexpected relationship between Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave (1894-1969), who served as the British Adviser to the rulers of Bahrain from 1926-1957, and the Nerium Oleander, a non-native, highly toxic plant that he introduced to the island and propagated widely.
In his position as British Adviser, Belgrave came to symbolize the power of colonial rule on the island, establishing the police force and courts of law during his tenure. And while the establishment of government and legal structures is an achievement lauded by some, the protests and threats from the large portions of the population that led to Belgrave’s expulsion remind us of the divisions sewn (and sown) into the social fabric at the hands of the British. This legacy of colonialism in Bahrain lives on in other, often understated ways, with the oleanders that are now found in every corner of the island being, perhaps, the most deeply rooted of examples. The fact that Belgrave personally planted poisonous flowers, which thrive to this day, is a sadistic joke taken a bit too far. The oleanders in Bahrain serve as a case study for the wider colonial practice of transplanting flora and fauna across the globe. Today, oleanders can be found in abundance globally, and I have found and photographed samples across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Germany, Portugal, and the United States.
This body of work and research was first presented at 421 in Abu Dhabi as part of ‘And the Mirrors Are Many’ exhibition in 2023. The work comprised a collection of pressed oleander flower clippings, 40 retyped diary entries, and digital negatives of archival herbarium samples displayed in light boxes (see fig.1). An excerpt from the exhibition text:
Nasser Alzayani’s Wardat al-Mustashar, or the Adviser’s Flower explores the history of the oleander, a highly toxic and invasive plant species on the islands of Bahrain. Known locally as "the Adviser's Flower", the flower was allegedly introduced and planted by the British Adviser to the Emir, Sir Charles Belgrave. Through an examination of Belgrave's personal diary, insight into his preoccupation with oleanders is presented alongside Alzayani's own research diary, where the past is exhumed and the Adviser's political, social, and agricultural influence is laid bare.
In the process of retracing Belgrave's footsteps, Alzayani collects specimens of oleanders from across Bahrain, and dry presses them, drawing upon botanical research conventions established in colonial practices obsessed with collecting and recording.
Alzayani's research exposes the remnants of colonialism that continue to linger and seep into the fabric of our present. A large collection of oleander samples from the Herbarium of the University of South Florida are printed as negatives and spliced together as new plants. Mounted on light boxes, the plant formations echo the viewing of an X-ray, the visuals associated with displacement and the crossing of borders.
At the center of this research are the Belgrave Diaries, a collection of over 2000 pages of transcribed, personal entries which the Adviser meticulously kept from his arrival in 1926 to 1957, the year he left Bahrain never to return. This record narrates a moment in Bahrain’s history that, albeit extremely biased (not to mention racist, sexist, and plainly unpleasant), is incredibly unique in its documentation of a time that is either scarcely documented or intentionally censored. So it is perhaps unsurprising that many Bahrainis I have spoken to are completely unaware of the Belgrave Diaries and the significance of the information they hold. In conjunction with his memoir “Personal Column”, these banned accounts represent essential material towards an understanding of Bahrain’s (often denied) colonized past, its present postcolonial love affair with Britain (among others), and a potential future that recognizes the legacy of colonialism and seeks ways to emancipate itself from it. To achieve this, I think we need to face the truth of our past, excavate it, uncover the soil and begin with the roots.
II. PROPOSAL
Under Glass
During a visit to Harvard some years ago, I remember encountering the Blaschka flowers. Thousands of delicately fashioned replicas of plant life displayed under smooth sheets of glass. These uncanny simulacra were commissioned for scientific study, made in a material that would never decay, and probably outlast us all. And yet, they were still protected from viewers under reflective panes of glass. Unable to touch them, unable to smell them, we couldn’t hurt them, and they couldn’t hurt us.
Given the reality of the Adviser’s Flower toxicity, a fact that the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) has finally caught onto, displaying them in the garden is probably not a good idea. I have faced a few of these limitations throughout my work with oleanders, the first being my discovery that burning them releases toxic fumes, which pulled the plug on a work involving encasing them in glass within a kiln. However, I think there is an opportunity to use this danger, the threat of its toxicity, to highlight its presence through its absence. Just as I was unable to touch the glass flowers at Harvard, I want to create a display for these oleanders that tells this story.
Blindness
I have been quite interested in concepts of Plant Blindness, the tendency to disregard or overlook plants in our visual experience of the world. This was certainly the case during my research. Before I learned of their toxicity and began searching for oleanders in Bahrain, I completely missed the giant bush that was growing in our garden (see fig. 2). To me, it was just another plant, providing something beautiful to look at and shade. But that was a turning point for me. I began seeing oleanders everywhere, climbing over garden walls, growing in between cracks in the pavement, planted along the highways and lining the streets (see fig. 3).
Of course, no one is likely to eat unidentified flowers off the side of the road, but this potentially deadly plant was, in a sense, hiding in plain sight. The challenge, then, is how to display and create conversations around this plant without posing a threat to visitors. My proposal is to create a collection of plant containers to create a display of these flowers, framing them, housing them, while maintaining a safe distance.
The Wardian Case
One of the more recent encounters of my research led me to discover the invention of the Wardian Case (see fig. 4). These cases allowed for the movement of live plant specimens around the world, which previously were limited to a few species that could survive sea voyages, or seeds. Prior to the R.A.F. flying samples of oleanders to Belgrave, this was the only way to successfully transport plants across oceans and was essential to the creation of botanical gardens and spread of non-native species of plants, directly feeding the greed of colonial expansion in the exploitation of indigenous peoples, plantation systems, and slavery (see fig. 5).
These cases, while undoubtedly an incredible scientific advancement, have led to the destruction of an immeasurable number of plant and animal species, all the while creating new ecosystems and bringing plants, much like the oleander, to places they had never grown before.
As Luke Keogh writes in The Wardian Case: “Nature is always dynamic and mobile. Our histories should reflect this. By focusing on a box that moved plants, we can get a global picture of plants on the move that collectively went on to have a fundamental impact on modern history.”
Invented (accidentally) by Nathaniel Ward in 1829, these plant cases created a closed system for the plants to grow in moist soil, under glass and placed in a location that receives light, allowing them to survive and thrive for months or years without much attention. This design protected live plants on their voyages from salt spray, rough weather, rats and cats, and amateur caretakers by allowing the plant to essentially take care of itself within its own micro- ecosystem.
This installation would use the Wardian Case as the structure housing the transplanted oleanders, a contemporary recreation of what was a common occurrence in the 19th and 20th century – sending ornamental plants in Wardian cases to all corners of the colonies.
In this way, the installation both localizes and globalizes the colonial history of plant migration (see fig. 6).
III. WORK COMPONENTS
Transplantation
“A colonial nursery was one of the many practices that were significant in taming foreign land.”
– Luke Keogh, The Wardian Case, p.139
Though it may have taken on a different form and purpose, the Agency Garden in Bahrain was essentially Belgrave’s colonial nursery, into which he brought in many foreign plants, and from which he sent local ones abroad (see fig. 7). Nurseries played a huge role in the transplanting of plant species and relied heavily on the use of the Wardian case.
I mentioned earlier that Abu Dhabi has banned the “cultivation, production, propagation, and circulation” of oleanders. A few years ago I bought some oleanders from one of the vendors at the plant market in Mina Zayed (see fig. 8). When I visited recently every vendor I spoke to told me that oleanders were ‘not allowed’, or that ‘if the baladiya came they would give a big mukhalafa’. Where there used to be pots of oleanders in almost every stall I found warnings of fines and reminders that they were banned. Only one seller took my number telling me that if he found any he would let me know. Oleanders had been relegated to contraband.
It’s unclear if this ban means that existing shrubs will be cut down or killed, although they do state that “removing it from urban areas will help protect both people and animals.” Can we work with ADAFSA to transplant some oleanders from Abu Dhabi to the center’s garden? It would be better than cutting them down and destroying them.
The primary source of the flowers would come from nurseries in Dubai and Sharjah. I would like for us to explore an option where we would ‘loan’ young plants from the nurseries, much like we would loan an artwork. The nurseries would be paid a loan fee for the plants and promised that we would care for them and nurture them until the end of the commission, after which we would return the flowers to them (hopefully as a large, healthy plant). To facilitate this, we could potentially keep the flowers in their pots within the cases. Alternatively we could plant a bed of soil in each case and transplant them (see figs. 9 & 10).
In both scenarios there would not be any planting of oleanders into soil that is part of the center in order to avoid any potential contamination of toxins (though I do not think this is likely).
This research taught me to reflect on how we adopt colonial mindsets in our relationship with nature. Through this process, I want to challenge our tendency to become extractive and manipulative when interacting with the natural environment. There is no way for Bahrain to get rid of all its oleanders in the way Abu Dhabi is attempting. The roots are too deep. But we can cultivate relationships with this plant and others in ways that allow us to understand how we can coexist with them.
Transformation
I also want to explore the visibility of these flowers by playing with light, translucency, and focus, activating the installation and creating an immersive experience that naturally transforms over the two years as the plants grow and change. I also want to create a contrast in the experience visitors have between day and night (see figs. 11 & 12). By placing a membrane, like glass or plastic, between the viewer and the oleanders, the surface acts as a lens. This produces varying effects of clarity, focus, and mystery, eliciting a sense that what is behind the screen may be sinister in nature.
An element of this commission I enjoy is witnessing and documenting the natural transformation of the garden as the plants grow and change across seasons. By working with young oleander plants we would be able to trace their growth throughout the two years, watching them bloom, and exhibiting the science behind the use of the Wardian Case. Should the plants outgrow their cases,
we may also swap them out for smaller ones during the process.
Voices
The installation will also include a sound element. It will feature recordings by anonymous Bahraini volunteers reading excerpts from the Belgrave diary. This act confronts history and resists its censorship and erasure. New recordings can be added over time, reciting more entries from the diary and exploring the various remains of the colonial legacies still present in Bahrain today. By embedding speakers inside or underneath the cases, this also creates a scenario where the plants themselves are being told this story, and are spoken to as they grow.
There is opportunity here for the recordings to expand beyond Bahrain as well, allowing the research to develop over the course of the commission by tracing the histories of oleander in other locations, such as Jordan where I recently found it growing abundantly in Petra (see fig. 13), and Sri Lanka where I learned that it is used as a method of self-harm (see fig. 14).
IV. INSTALLATION
A ‘Garden’
The garden installation will consist of a collection of eight Wardian Cases, based on the number cases still in the Kew collection (see fig. 17). Only 15-19 original cases are thought to exist globally today. Most cases were burned or otherwise destroyed in the mid 20th century due to the strict import laws and quarantine controls that were instated following disastrous consequences caused through the transport of invasive species, animals and insects that traveled inside these cases.
Each case will be built—whenever possible—using scrap and recycled wood and fashioned from historical designs of the Wardian Case. These will be recreated from both drawings and photographs (see fig. 16) and built with local carpenters as was the case with many cases in the past where local craftsmen were often employed to create containers for the indigenous plants that were being extracted and shipped off.
The cases will be filled with potted oleander flowers sourced from local nurseries and covered with a glass (or plastic) front to protect them from visitors, and visitors from them. Within each case would be an embedded sound system (speaker) and lighting system (LEDs). These would need to be connected and synced in order to play the audio on different channels and for the lights to be switched on when the sun sets.
This collection of cases will be displayed on a raised platform of plywood covering existing planter and lifting the floor to maximize sunlight reaching the cases. The platform will also form an enclosure allowing for the sound to echo and reverberate within the space while drawing focus to the objects and flowers on display.
V. LOGISTICS
Case Details
Flat-pack design based on historical records (see fig. 18)
Made from scrap/recycled wood from local carpenters
Incorporates potted oleanders or transplanted flowers within a layer of soil
Covered with frosted glass or corrugated plastic panels (see fig. 19)
Hinge design to allow for access panel for any maintenance/care. Lock can be incorporated to prevent visitors from opening the cases.
Speaker and lights to be imbedded within in case
Speakers form multiple channels that play different voices, moving across cases and activating at different times
Lights switched on in the evenings to create silhouetted flower projections on glass panels
Research/artwork text can be incorporated into either the wood of the case or the pedestal on which it stands to tell the story of the Wardian Case as an extension of the Adviser’s Flower
Sourcing and planting
Young flowers (around 1-2 ft tall) to be ‘loaned’ from nurseries in Dubai and Sharjah, the nurseries are paid for them and when the exhibition ends we would return the plants to them, larger and healthy. If possible, we could try to ‘rescue’ plants from Abu Dhabi.
The potted flowers are placed within newly constructed (flat pack) Wardian cases with designs based on historical ones. The designs will allow for sporadic maintenance through accessible panels.
Little attention would be paid to the plants as the enclosed system should allow for the plants to grow when left alone.
A sound system with individual speakers would be placed in or beneath each case, with each case having a channel with an individual voice.
The soil on site is not used to avoid any risk of contamination.
VI. REFERENCES
Books
Personal Column, Charles Belgrave, 1960.
A Dictionary of Sri Lankan English, Michael Meyler, 2007.
The Wardian Case: How a Simple Box Moved Plants and Changed the World, Luke Keogh, 2020.
Empireworld, Sathnam Sanghera, 2024.
Paradoxes of Green: Landscapes of a City State, Gareth Doherty, 2017.
Wild Flowers of Bahrain, Diana Charles Phillips, 1988.
The Wild Flowering Plants of Bahrain, M.D. and C.D. Cornes, 1989.
Jordan in Bloom: Wildflowers of the Holy Land, Lytton John Musselman, 2000.
Plants That Kill, Dauncey and Larsson, 2018.
Articles
https://www.vice.com/en/article/harvard-glass- flower-garden-120-years/
https://www.adafsa.gov.ae/en/mediahub/news/pages/ news0910.aspx
https://therevelator.org/all-the-plants-we-cannot- see/
https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/how-wardian-case- changed-botanical-world
https://herbariumworld.wordpress.com/2021/06/15/ victorian-botany-the-wardian-case/
Archival material
http://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/ vdc_100000000282.0x0000f9
https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/bahrain/ m0161c?categoryId=place
https://14f2011.com/files/rc_library/Belgrave%20 Diaries_0.pdf
Podcasts
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3lRI70TkU6msekyREdN 2RC?si=0PXuRYPkSx2S5zNi--DoHw