Along the four exhibition chapters—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—processes of growth, loss, memory, and change are made visible in order to explore the question of what new forms of research and action can emerge in the relationships between people, plants, and knowledge. Artists with family ties to Chile, Australia and New Zealand, Nigeria, Mauritius, India, and Jamaica contribute their cultural and biographical perspectives to the dialogue with the researchers at the University of Bonn.
The first chapter, “Spring: What Does Pewen Dream Of?”, features artworks by Neyen Pailamilla. Her works “make plant knowledge tangible as an embodied, spiritual, and communal process—between people, plants, water, and memory,” explains Prof. Dr. Julia Binter, curator of the exhibition. The exhibited works address experiences of diaspora, uprooting, and enduring connection, as well as the transmission of knowledge in Mapuche spirituality and philosophy. Neyen Pailamilla is a queer Mapuche artist who works with performance, textiles, and audiovisual media. Pailamilla lives and works in Zurich.
Beyond the artistic perspectives, participatory activities invite visitors to actively engage with the exhibition.
Scent Lab in cooperation with the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology: In the scent lab, visitors can smell plants, examine them under a microscope, and explore them through drawing. In workshops, visitors can also distill plants and explore the sense of smell as an interplay of the senses – at the intersection of art and science.
Family Reading Carpet in cooperation with Der Kleine Laden e.V.: Families and young readers will find a special area here: the Family Reading Carpet, curated by the Bonn-based association Der kleine Laden. This association, dedicated to promoting children's and young adult literature, has compiled a selection of books that spark interest in stories about plants, gardens, water, and habitats.
Library for Black Ecologies in cooperation with the Theodor Wonja Michael Library: North Rhine-Westphalia's first Black Library has curated a selection of literature for the exhibition that makes visible the perspectives of African and Afro-diasporic people. The books tell of their relationships to land, plants, water, and urban spaces. They address the ecological consequences of slavery and colonialism, as well as knowledge, resistance, and visions of self-determined futures. Visitors are invited to share sentences or thoughts from the books that particularly resonated with them in the exhibition.
The teaching and research project "Botanic Futures," in cooperation with the Botanical Gardens of the University of Bonn, features students from the University of Bonn working with artist Parisa Karimi to create cyanotypes (plant prints) and zines (homemade magazines) that invite a new encounter with plants. The project explores questions of migration, resistance, perception, and naming. Karimi has also animated the cyanotypes. Visitors can download an augmented reality app and watch the cyanotypes come to life.
The exhibition is supported by the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS) and is a collaboration between the Botanical Gardens of the University of Bonn and the Department of Pharmaceutical Biology at the University of Bonn.