Artists, architects, and botanists evoke a vegetal paradise in the heart of an urban sprawl

“The Ecologies of Care and Caring” is a large-scale event with a botanical theme, based on interdisciplinary research in contemporary art, architecture, landscaping, and horticulture. A wide collaboration between artists, horticulturists, and architects forms the foundation of a large exhibition, divided among three galleries in Bucharest: Nicolae Comănescu, Hortensia Mi Kafchin, Andreea Medar, Ana Maria Micu, and Roman Tolici are among the 32 artists who will exhibit their works in September at Strata, Mobius, and Leilei galleries. The program includes two interventions in the “Dimitrie Brândză” Botanical Garden in Bucharest, along with conferences, workshops, and curated walks by Gabriela Mateescu, together with researchers Valentina Iancu (visual arts), Eliza Yokina (architecture), and Prof. Dr. Mihaela Georgescu (botany).

The imaginary paradise is always green. A vegetal heart, pulsating in the rhythm of absolute balance. Preserving the dynamics of the post-industrial era, urbanization continuously reshapes spaces, transforms ecosystems, and alters the course of life, modifying the discreet structures that sustain it. Plant blindness is the new mantra on the fringes of the Anthropocene, a time when the closest connection with nature is mainly mediated by the fruit and vegetable section of the nearest supermarket. In post-human paradigms, technology deceives the nostalgic with false meeting points, lush universes constructed through digitization and VR solutions, evoking traces of raw green from the inventory of remnants of passing time. Generally understood as being at the lowest rung of the hierarchy of life, plants are, in fact, of vital importance, carrying stories and messages, and can become powerful allies for various social groups. While art remains the most delicate method of rewriting this history in the contemporary context.

“Plants, these modest living beings, ennobled, however, with countless virtues on which all life on Earth depends, constitute the bond in this endeavor established between those dedicated to their direct knowledge – botanists, phytosociologists, and more – and the artistic environment, sensitive and comprehensive to humanity’s ongoing quest. For some, plants represent the subject of study, translated into direct field research. For others, they are a source of inspiration, sublimated into messages of broad scope. Together, they contribute to our understanding of our role in the protection and appreciation of these essential beings in the Logic of Life on Earth”, said Prof. Dr. Mihaela Georgescu.

Botanical Research Coordinator

“The Ecologies of Care and Caring” aims to establish relationships between diverse social and environmental ecosystems, highlighting the importance of their interdependence and developing a network capable of supporting the mutual interests of the entities it includes. It proposes an acceptance of systemic approaches that view the planet as a collection of symbiotic ecosystems, inhabited by various beings that rely on each other for life. It is a green plea, stimulating ecological awareness and a direct relationship with nature. “The Ecologies of Care and Caring” brings contemporary art together with architectural projects and botanical research, offering a visual, poetic, and practical exploration of the complexity of human relationships with flora.

The artistic discourse recreates realities, starting from the nourishing and healing role of plants or their practical functions (in various aspects of life, from clothing and architecture to pharmaceutical products), and then delves further into symbolic imagination or their magical and mythical attributes.

“Plants provide the breath of the ecosystem to which we belong. The living cover of the earth’s crust has been transformed into an apparently limitless resource, exploited for human survival. Current botanical taxonomies are mixed in this micro-visual anthropology of common plants, imagined in relation to caring for nature and concern in the face of the current ecocide. The ‘Ecologies of Care and Caring’ exhibition becomes a space for reflection, learning, and unlearning of human relationships with the plant world. Is plant care an answer to the concern about the climate crisis?”, said Valentina Iancu, Curator of the program.

The exhibition is divided into four sections, inspired by pop culture, folk culture, and common understanding: useful plants, poisonous plants, aphrodisiac plants, and ritualistic plants.

“The Ecologies of Care and Caring” starts from a series of questions that target the relationship between humans and botanical nature, derived from the homonymy of the word “care”. By exploring care for plants, plants used for care, or concerns in the face of current ecological disasters, the exhibition introduces a complex perspective on the role of flora in human life and vice versa. Each section of the exhibition includes live plants and architectural models of structures used for their growth and care, as well as a series of contemporary artworks that speak polyphonically and subjectively nuance botanical and architectural research.

Throughout September, a workshop on medicinal plants will be held at Strata Gallery, coordinated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luchian Vasilica. The organizers invite the public to a discovery walk of the plants near Mobius Gallery – together with Prof. Dr. Mihaela Georgescu – and to two conferences on topics of architecture, ecology, and nature, led by Eliza Yokina and Daniel Tellman.

Exhibition Schedule:

USEFUL PLANTS. Strata Gallery – September 2^nd – 20^th, 2023, opening on September 2^nd at 18:00. Artists: Horia Bernea, Nicolae Comănescu, Hortensia Mi Kafchin, Andreea Medar and Mălina Ionescu, Gabriela Mateescu, Diana Miron, Liliana Mercioiu, Ana Maria Micu, Roman Tolici, Iulia Toma, Miki Velciov, with architectural proposals by Beros Abdul Architects, Stardust architects*, Nicolas Triboi, Eliza Yokina. Botanical research by Adrian Mureș – master’s student at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest, Biodiversity Conservation Management Master’s Program.

POISONOUS, TOXIC, HARMFUL PLANTS. Mobius Gallery – September 7^th – 30^th, 2023, opening on September 7^th at 18:00. Artists: Maria Balea, Nicolae Comănescu, Iulian Bisericaru & Dragoș Dogioiu, Roberta Curcă, Katja Lee Eliad, Livia Greaca, Marina Oprea, Natalia Silaghi, Roman Tolici. Botanical research by Andreea Stan – master’s student at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest, Landscape Architecture Master’s Program.

APHRODISIAC, RITUALISTIC PLANTS. Leilei Gallery – September 16^th – October 30^th, 2023, opening on September 16^th at 18:00. Artists exhibiting on the lower level (ritualistic plants): Diana Matilda Crișan, Hortensia Mi Kafkin, Marta Mattioli, taietzel ticalos. Botanical research by Andrei Conțiu – master’s student at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest, Biodiversity Conservation Management Master’s Program.

Artists exhibiting on the ground floor (aphrodisiac plants): Livia Greaca, Alina Marinescu, Andreea Medar, Ciprian Mureșan, Miron Schmückle. Botanical research by Andriana Gârstea – master’s student at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest, Biodiversity Conservation Management Master’s Program.

Zine inserts will be available in all exhibition rooms | artist: Anton Polyakov.

Botanical Garden Bucharest – September 4^th – 30^th. Artists: Beniamin Popescu, Miki Velciov.

Botanical Research Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Mihaela Georgescu. Herbarium consultation and curation: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vasilica Luchian; landscape concept coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elisabeta Dobrescu | Visual arts curators: Valentina Iancu and Gabriela Mateescu | Architecture curators: Eliza Yokina