Parliament of Plants II

The exhibition Parliament of Plants II gives a voice to plants. It testifies to a new view of these beings, which are inextricably linked with our own survival. 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. Following on from Parliament of Plants (2020–21), the show develops a network of cooperations in a range of different disciplines, with guest contributions in the form of “inserts.”

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
 the 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 with Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, molecular biologist and historian of science.

Participating artists
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.

A production of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, curated by Christiane Meyer-Stoll.


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.
 Sourced from the ETH’s Prints and Drawings Collection, visitors can discover artistic positions that deal with current topics: borders, the question of the Self and the Other, the dominance of culture or nature, but also economic interests or geopolitical aspects of natural resources, among others. Participating artists: 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. The research project sets out to widen the debate about plant knowledge and to harness it to social, ecological and ethical behaviour by collaborating closely with representatives from a variety of fields of knowledge.
 Research team: Yvonne Volkart (head), Felipe Castelblanco, Julia Mensch, Rasa Smite.

Project space: Parliament of Plants II, curated by Annett Höland, co-curator of the exhibition. The side-light gallery showcases a range of regional protagonists committed to nature conservation. By examining various examples of different habitats, the aim is to present ways to create a better balance between human beings and nature–and ask if it is possible to accord plants legal rights.

Publication
A cardboard box containing folded posters with texts in German and English is accompanying the exhibition.

Accompanying programme
Please check our website for regular updates on our programme.

Every Wednesday free admission to Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein with Hilti Art Foundation from 10am to 5pm. 

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