Floraphilia. Revolution of plants

Artists: Agency of Singular Investigations (Stanislav Shuripa, Anna Titova), Milena Bonilla, Magda Buczek, Igor and Ivan Buharov, Saddie Choua, Ines Doujak, Ruth Ewan, Dagna Jakubowska, Candice Lin, Cecylia Malik, Bianka Rolando, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, Buket Sanati, Åsa Sonjasdotter

Exhibition curator: Aneta Rostkowska

Exhibition design: Mateusz Okoński

It is striking how popular the hobby of growing plants has become in recent years. Instagram is filled with photos of interiors decorated with potted plants (succulents seem to be particularly well liked), new blogs devoted to plant care crop up almost every day, and urban gardening is constantly on the rise. What is the reason behind this increased interest in the domesticated natural world? In his essay “On Lyric Poetry and Society”, Theodor W. Adorno claims that nature becomes sacralized because of the individual’s alienation in a capitalist society, causing him or her to seek a place of escape. What is more, the prestige of nature increases in periods of political disaster, when hopes for a revolutionary societal transformation have been let down. Nature becomes an area in which the alienated individual finds a relief. While it does not eliminate the underlying cause of the poor mental state, contact with flora calms one down.

Yet is such a vision of nature—as a completely depoliticized means of improving our mood, a perfectly functioning consumption object—the only one we have at our disposal? Definitely not! The exhibition Floraphilia. Revolution of plants frees the world of plants from the reactionary context of interior design magazines and eco-trends, revealing its emancipatory potential leading to social transformation. The space of Temporary Gallery turns into an anarchist laboratory of the revolution-to-come, which will become possible through interspecies exchange. Plants decorating our shelves and windowsills transform into sources of inspiration for political activity. We are fascinated by their resilience, adaptability and communication skills as well as their indifference to state borders. For instance, the Canadian goldenrod instils in us an element of disobedience, the Japanese rose teaches us to evolve in line with our surroundings, while the calamus turns into a symbol of renewal and purification. Plants are community beings by nature—not individuals forming clear boundaries from one another. Their identity is deeply pluralistic: from roots that are a source of decentralized intelligence to dependency relationships that tie them to other organisms. 

What follows is a questioning of the common understanding of plants as mechanical “things” that react solely to simple stimuli. Plants leave the lowest position in the hierarchy of beings, leading us to a vision of a fundamental continuity between humans and plants, the latter of which—dynamic, breathing and growing—are endowed with intentionality and even memory.

The unique architecture of the exhibition strengthens the ritualistic, communal and scientific themes present in the artworks. Tables covered with cloths, like altars, emphasize the need to go beyond the instrumentalization of nature based on the disenchantment of reality: selected religious or shamanic beliefs go hand in hand with the discoveries of modern science, showing plants as much more complex organisms than they seem.

Access the exhibition online
– Guided tour of the exhibition by curator Aneta Rostkowska
– Playlist of films in the exhibition (password: Temporary-Gallery)
– Folder with photos, descriptions etc.

The exhibition is accompanied by an online public programme: a gathering on encounters with plants (with Aleksandra Jach), a film seminar on folk horror (with Anja Dreschke), a reading group with botanist and poet Urszula Zajączkowska, a meeting for curators about ecology and sustainability in art institutions (with Nada Schroer) and a symposium on mosses and lichens (in collaboration with Verena Friedrich and Klaus Fritze)

Partner: Biennale Warszawa

In light of the current coronavirus pandemic, Temporary Gallery has made our current exhibition and programme accessible to the public online. For more information please visit our website.