Floraphilia aims to illuminate social and political aspects of the history of plants, botany and botanical gardens. With works by Alberto Baraya, Maria Thereza Alves, Candice Lin, Uriel Orlow and others. Curated by Aneta Rostkowska.
Cultural appropriation has recently become the subject of heated debate. What was not long ago considered a purely aesthetic, vaguely postmodern, individualistic device of translation is suddenly revealed in its frightening political-economic dimension of exploitation and profit. This exhibition seeks to show another side of this story overshadowed by current discussions: the strategy of cultural counter-appropriation used by the underprivileged. The thieves, counterfeiters, and resistant appropriators in the exhibition show that “stealing from the West” is a potent tool of cultural resistance and an instrument of postcolonial retaliation.
Curated by Ekaterina Degot, David Riff, Aneta Rostkowska, including works by Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Yuri Albert, Kader Attia, Younes Baba-Ali, Ines Doujak, Tom Gould, Ramon Haze, Uriel Orlow, Gosha Rubchinskiy, and Ulay.