Zoetica Ebb, artist and photographer based in London
My ongoing project, Alien Botany®, is a multimedia concept series. It includes intricate works on paper, sculptures, and capsule fashion collections focused on fantasy flora, space delirium, and skin. This project is a consequence of a lifetime of experiences and passions, conceived at the intersection of Soviet space obsession, a love of the compulsive detail and speculation in antique scientific illustration, and a fascination with the beauty and horror of the natural world.
My art book, Chimeric Herbarium, contains the complete Alien Botany® art archive and a record of the new forms these plants have taken in the years since this infectious collection was discovered on Earth.
Previous endeavours include The Secret Guide to Alternative Beijing – a video travel guide series giving insight into the skyrocketing alternative art, fashion, music, and nightlife culture in Beijing. On this project, I acted as curator, co-director and host. The initial phase of The Secret Guide was funded through Kickstarter. This was my second Kickstarter effort; previously, I’d raised funds for D4RT – a project aiming to bring art classes and supplies to a developing village in the Peruvian Amazon jungle, where I also taught an introductory kids’ art workshop and, together with village locals, painted a mural on the school wall.
In 2011, I launched GHST RDR – my first foray into fashion design in collaboration with Adriana Fulop of Toronto label, Plastik Wrap. GHST RDR is a mini-collection consisting of an architectural, retro-futuristic jacket-and-skirt combo, inspired by Victorian riding fashion and anime robots.
I’ve also worked as a culture editor, writer, and photographer for RedBull’s Chinashop Magazine (now bygone), specialising in urban exploration and art coverage. I visited independent businesses and the studios of fellow artists and fashion designers, documenting creative spaces and conducting interviews. From 2007 to 2012 I was part of Coilhouse, a magazine and blog I co-founded, billed as “a love letter to alternative culture”. During my time with Coilhouse, I was co-editor, project manager, merchandise designer, writer, photographer, and illustrator, interviewing Clive Barker and Grant Morrison among many other luminaries.
SELECT EXHIBITIONS
2024
- February group exhibition, Candid Gallery, London, GB
2023
- Spring Salon, Candid Gallery, London, GB
2022
- Chimeric Herbarium: an Alien Botany retrospective, Brick Lane, London, GB
- Fichtean Landscapes Group Exhibition, St John’s Church, London, GB
2019
- Alien Botany residency, Still Life, London, UK
2018
- The Miniature Show, Dorothy Circus Gallery, Rome, IT
- Art in the Crypt, Crypt Gallery, London, UK
2017
- The Thing 35th Anniversary Art Show, Creature Features, Los Angeles, CA
2016
- “Specimens and Hosts”, 3 Bees, San Mateo, CA (Solo)
2015
- Hive Gallery Ten-year Anniversary Show, Los Angeles, CA
2014
- The Second Annual Coaster Show, La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013
- Gag Me With a Toon 5, WWA Gallery, LA
- Conjoined 3, Copro Nason Gallery, LA
- Zombie!, Last Rites Gallery, NYC
2012
- 100 Skulls, Wonderland Gallery, LA
- Veneris, Skotia Gallery, LA
- Conjoined 2 in 3D, Copro Nason Gallery, LA
- Gag Me With a Toon 4, WWA Gallery, LA
2010
- The Ghost of Delilah and Other Stories, Gallery 1988
- This is Not an Invitation to Rape Me, Fox Art Gallery
- The Best Little Whorehouse in LA, The Foundation Room, LA House of Blues
2009
- Monster?, Copro Nason Gallery, LA
- Beerotica 2, The Hive Gallery, LA
- Induced Epidemics, Chaos Gallery, LA
2008
- Off-world Cloud Hunters, Plastik Wrap, Toronto, Canada
- Dances of Vice, Element, NYC
- Beerotica, The Hive Gallery, LA
- LA Noir, The Burian-Mohr Foundation, LA
- Fist Full of Metal, Hope Gallery, New Haven, CT
2007
- Seven Brides Electrified, Jail gallery (curated and exhibited), LA
2006
- Masters of the Dark, Night Gallery, CA
2005
- Group exhibit, Arena Gallery, LA
2003
- Launch Pad – Next Generation, Don O’Melveny Gallery, LA
2001
- Hodge Podge, curated by Julie Rico, Highway Performance Space
- Group exhibit, Don O’Melveny Gallery
2000
- New York International Art Fair by Julia Lubim Gallery, NYC
1999
- Obscurity to Freedom – Russian Immigrant Artists, Finegood Art Gallery