A triptych video installation, The Gardens explores the notion of free will. The original text of the voiceovers uses the imagery of flora and fauna as a metaphor for the women's inner world. Over visuals tinted in a vibrant red hue, a young woman speaks of her outings through a public park as she tries to choose between two suitors, dreaming of her own garden where she can do as she pleases. In autumnal orange, a middle aged woman reflects on the state of her garden, overgrown and in need of attention, but also of the beauty of established trees now bearing fruit. Finally, in the yellow of old photographs, the older woman rests in a sanatorium, reflecting on the past and nature's course.

Representing a universal experience that endures through time and culture, the work will utilise archival visual material from the National Film and Television Archive (BFI) in the UK, the Library of Congress in the US, and the Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive, in a combination that coincidentally resembles Hinkel-Pevzner's background.

Research and development of the project was funded by Arts Council England and the European Cultural Foundation.