Zheng Bo – Uriel Orlow

Person: Zheng Bo

Beyond Water | Reconnecting Earth Biennial II, Geneva

The second edition of the (re)connecting.earth biennial of art and urban nature aims to (re)focus attention on the natural elements that make up our urban environment. After exploring urban gardens and eco-neighbourhoods in 2021, the 2023 biennial of art and urban nature is taking shape around the theme of lakes and water. Curated by Bernard Vienat with works by Maria Thereza Alves, Caroline Bachmann, Flurina Badel & Jérémie Sarbach, Mauren Brodbeck, Seba Calfuqueo, Luis Camnitzer, Gabo Camnitzer & Lluís Alexandre Casanovas Blanco, Julian Charrière, Collectif Tchan-Zâca, Andreas Greiner & Takafumi Tsukamoto, Valérie Favre, Anne-Laure Franchette & Manon Briod, Marie Griesmar, Hans Haacke, Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller, Monica Ursina Jäger, Alexandre Joly, Diana Lelonek, Diana Lelonek & Denim Szram, Antje Majewski, Adrien Missika, Uriel Orlow, Carmen Perrin, Som Supaparinya, Raul Walch, Pinar Yoldas, Zheng Bo

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5 May ’23 – 22 Oct ’23

Parlament of Plants II | Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein

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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10 Nov ’22 – 30 Apr ’23

Becoming Flower | MAMAC, Nice

A group exhibition at MAMAC Nice, curated by Hélène Guenin and Rébecca François and part of the Nice Biennal of Arts 2022. With works by Laurence Aëgerter, Maria Thereza Alves, Isa Barbier, Yto Barrada, Hicham Berrada, Minia Biabiany, Melanie Bonajo, Bianca Bondi, Fatma Bucak, Chiara Camoni, Ali Cherri, Jean Comandon & Pierre de Fonbrune, Marinette Cueco, Odonchimeg Davaadorj, Andy Goldsworthy, Nona Inescu, Kapwani Kiwanga, Tetsumi Kudo, Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien, Ana Mendieta, Marie Menken, Otobong Nkanga, Dennis Oppenheim, Uriel Orlow, Gabriel Orozco, Giuseppe Penone, Pia Rönicke, Michelle Stuart, Anaïs Tondeur, NILS-UDO, Zheng Bo.

Becoming flower? At a time when ecosystems and climate breakthrough is leading us to rethink our relationship with nature and the living world, we can wonder what can we learn from flowers, from their resilience, from their constant adaptation to their environment, from their sobriety? Vulnerable and essential, they are an indispensable driving force of life: they produce the food that humans, animals and insects consume and the oxygen that we breathe. With scientific advances in plant intelligence and a new approach to life, our fascination for them is growing – far beyond mere aesthetic pleasure. Symbols of fragility and rebirth, they are becoming a particularly powerful indicator for lighting up current issues. Through the eyes of artists, “Becoming Flower” attempts to bring a new and a sensitive light on contemporary ecological, anthropological and geopolitical issues. The exhibition brings to light a botany of world history, as well as new forms of attention, sensitivity and thought.

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16 Sep ’21 – 9 Jan ’22

Tip of the Iceberg | Focal Point Gallery Southend

This exhibition explores the relationship between art and alternative growing practices, which are increasingly coming together in pursuit of climate action and social justice. New and recent works by local and international artists explore three key themes: the notion of the ‘commons’, i.e. our common right to the earth’s natural resources (air, water, soil, land); how plants can be considered as both witnesses and agents across history, and how local hidden economies can act as catalysts for wider change. With works by Shaun C. Badham, Becky Beasley, Kathrin Böhm, Graham Burnett, Gabriella Hirst with Warren Harper, Anna Lukala, Mary Mattingly, Uriel Orlow, Rachel Pimm, Alida Rodrigues, Zheng Bo.

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26 Jul ’19 – 1 Dec ’19

Garden of Earthly Delights | Gropius Bau, Berlin

In this large-scale group exhibition, artists including Pipilotti Rist, Rashid Johnson, Maria Thereza Alves, Uriel Orlow, Jumana Manna, Taro Shinoda and Heather Phillipson interpret the motif of the garden as a metaphor for the state of the world and as a poetic expression to explore the complexities of our increasingly precarious world. Their artworks open up a wider discourse on social, political and ecological phenomena, such as migration, gentrification and gender politics. In addition to common understanding of the garden as a place of yearning full of meditative, spiritual and philosophical possibilities, the exhibition will tread the line between reality and fantasy, harmony and chaos, beauty and exile.

External link here

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29 Jun ’19 – 29 Sep ’19

Fragile Earth | MIMA, Middlesborough

MIMA’s summer exhibition presents artistic responses to current urgencies around ecological change. Works by Maria Thereza Alves, Zheng Bo, Allan Sekula and Noël Burch, Miriam de Búrca, Laura Harrington, Andy Holden, David Lisser, Shahar Livne, Anne Vibeke Mou, Otobong Nkanga, Uriel Orlow, Faiza Ahmad Khan and Hanna Rullman, Zina Saro-Wiwa, Cooking Sections, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Diane Watson, Wayward.

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9 Jun ’18 – 19 Sep ’18

Yinchuan Biennale | MOCA Yinchuan

The second Yinchuan Biennale “Departing from the Desert – Ecology on the Border” is conceived with the aim of measuring itself against a specific geo-historic context, and proposed as a form of minor language within the biennale system, Starting from the Desert seeks to respond to contemporary urgencies (not only in China) by adopting an “archaeological method.”

The Biennale’s framework is articulated over four, interdependent (and often overlapping) thematic areas that, without seeking to limit or circumscribe, attempts to visualize their material and immaterial aspects: Nomadic Space and Rural Space, Labor-in-Nature and Nature-in-Labor, The Voice and The Book, Minorities and Multiplicity .

Curated by Marco Scotini, with Andris Brinkmanis, Paolo Caffoni, Zasha Colah, and Lu Xinghua. With works by over 80 artists including Can Altay, Said Atabekov, Erick Beltrán, Alighiero Boetti, Filipa César, Emory Douglas, Duan Zengqu, Miriam Ghani, Raphaël Grisey, Silima Hashimi, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Hiwa K, Li Fenglen, Liu Ding, Adrien Missika, Pedro Neves Marques, Uriel Orlow, Kyong Park, Marjetica Potrč, Song Dong, Zheng Bo and others.

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