On Water & Plants

Curated by Tereza de Arruda.

Troy House Art Foundation London, is presenting an interdisciplinary project curated by the art historian Tereza de Arruda and developed priory in cooperation with the Kunsthalle Rostock, together with the Botanical Garden of the University of Rostock in which scientific research and art entered into dialogue. Through a residency program, exhibitions and campaigns in the Kunsthalle Rostock as well as in the Botanical Garden Rostock, a dynamic and experimental platform was created and presented in 2022. Artists and scientists initiated an exchange of research, experiences and ambitions in the form of exhibitions and discussions. The aim now bringing the exhibition to Troy House Art Foundation London in a new version. Today, more and more people around the globe are directly impacted by climate change. Due to this, the perception of this topic has increased and it determines current discourses in many areas of life. As the basis for all its programmes, Troy House Art Foundation is initiating exhibitions, artists’ residencies and exchanges, performances, conversations, educational programmes, and other public and community events. What they hold in common is their identification of art with social, ethical and scientific concerns, and their use of historic buildings, sites, and special natural settings, as integral elements for the production and display of contemporary art.

The exhibition On Water & Plants—Artistic Positions on Sustainability, presents  24 artists from different countries and generations in dialogue: Eva & Adele, Germany / Francisco de Almeida, Brazil / Caetano Dias, Brazil / Jaider Esbell, Brazil / José Gomes, Brazil / Rhys Himsworth, England/Germany / Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Chile/Germany / Ingar Krauss, Germany / Alejandro Lloret, Cuba/Brazil / Paulo Neves, Brazil / Luiz Moreira, Brazil / Giacomo Orth, Germany / Jina Park, South Korea/Germany / Veronika Pfaffinger, Germany / Luzia Simons, Brazil/Germany / Vivan Sundaram, India /Armarinhos Teixeira, Brazil / Tomoyuki Ueno, Japan/Germany / Kiyomi + Tetsuhiro Uozumi, Japan/Germany / Bruno Vilela, Brazil / Thomas Wrede, Germany.

The show guides the visitors with current artistic confrontations related to nature in the form of installations, objects, paintings, sculptures, photographs and site-specific works focussed on five topics—On The Fascination of Nature, In Symbiosis with Nature, Analysis of Nature, Exploration of Nature and The Perception of Nature. Human-induced climate change plays a greater role and impacts not only in the countryside but also in urban habitats. Scientists and artists currently accompany this scenario and the associated future global demands on humanity, as well as the development of adaptation and solution strategies and will continue to do so in the future. The perception of nature alone is not sufficient but is crucial for changing the way we interact with it. What would be effective is a transformative change in the way society thinks and acts. The future depends on a functioning eco-humanism in interaction with different sustainability-oriented world views. On Water & Plants—Artistic Positions on Sustainability is one more step in this journey.