The exhibition Parliament of Plants II testifies to a new view of plants, which are inextricably linked with our own survival, with works by Polly Apfelbaum, Ursula Biemann, Anna Hilti, Alevtina Kakhidze, Jochen Lempert, Rivane Neuenschwander & Mariana Lacerda, Uriel Orlow, Silke Schatz, Thomas Struth, Athena Vida, Miki Yui, Zheng Bo. Over the past decades, a paradigm shift has been taking place in the sciences regarding our perception of plants, one that is also reflected in the exhibition’s artworks. Parliament of Plants II demonstrates the principle of symbiosis as a societal counter-image to the parasitic handling of nature. New insights regarding the world of plants feature alongside knowledge of Indigenous cultures, questions pertaining to colonial and contemporary history, the handling of resources or our perception of time. The crucial question is: how can we achieve a symbiotic coexistence in which human and non-human beings can learn from each other? The main themes of two ‘raised stands’ are Michel Serres’ Natural Contract and Lynn Margulis’ theory of symbiosis. Co-curated by Christiane Meyer-Stoll with Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, molecular biologist and historian of science.
The exhibition includes two inserts, a project space in the side-light gallery and a wide range of further collaborations and cooperations: Insert I: Politics of Plants
curated by Linda Schädler, head of ETH’s Prints and Drawings Collection, Zurich, with works by Mireille Gros, Matthew Day Jackson, Monica Ursina Jäger, Daniela Keiser, Pascal Schwaighofer, Melanie Smith, Sebastian Utzni. Insert II: Plants_Intelligence. Learning like a Plant, a research project at the Institute Art Gender Nature, Academy of Art and Design FHNW, Basel, with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation with works by Felipe Castelblanco, Julia Mensch, Rasa Smite, Raitis Smits.
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