Photo by Alex Hill

Shwmae, I’m Esther and I’m an English and Welsh visual artist, writer, researcher and musician based in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. My work explores interspecies relationships, focussing on the botanical heritage of Cymru by unearthing forgotten Welsh nomenclature to inspire richer understandings of plant-perspectives in Wales. 

Work

I make work using a variety of mediums including illustration, photography, video, writing, sound, music, and community walks and workshops. The medium and method is dependent on the subject matter and I combine different forms to reveal something new. Most projects are inspired by plants and relationships to nature, presenting alternative perspectives of various spaces, landscapes, creatures, people and places. You can view current and previous projects under the Projects heading in the navigation bar. 

Music

I’ve been writing and recording music since my early twenties under the name Oxen Mare; atmospheric, harmony-rich folk-pop, more recently featuring the harp and sometimes viola accompaniment from frequent collaborator Hazel Genevieve. I released my first EP, a small fire, in 2024, which you can listen to here. I’m currently working on a project inspired by wildflowers and Welsh plantlore. Find out more here. 

Botanical Products

I design and produce a range of botanically inspired products such as seed-kits, cards and calendars. I’m currently taking a break from producing seed products and focussing on a 2027 Welsh Herbal Calendar, to be released later this year.  Find out more here. 

Music and Visual Art BA

I have a BA in Music and Visual Art from Brighton University, where I explored alternative ecological perspectives and walking as artistic practice. My degree show Terrain featured a light installation using leaf-skeletons and a slide projector to visually distort senses of scale, viewpoint and place within an imagined landscape, making connections between the micro and macro, human and non-human ways of seeing. 

Sustainability MSc

I also have an MSc in Sustainability where my research explored the concept of ‘decolonising’ British botanic gardens. This comprised in-depth interviews with staff from various gardens in England and Wales, exploring understandings of and feelings surrounding the term ‘decolonise’, and its relevance to the changing role of botanic gardens.

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