Science/Fiction —
A Non-History of Plants
The exhibition Science/Fiction — A Non-History of Plants retraces a visual history of plants linking art, technology and science from the mid-19th century to the present day. Rather than using a chronological approach, it combines the two conceptual frameworks of science and fiction.
The exhibition
Conceived on two levels, the exhibition highlights the audacious efforts of both artists and researchers as they explore ways to connect with the environment. The first part of the exhibition, dedicated to an objective, science-based approach, will bring together principally photographic and video works. The second part will engage viewers in an immersive experience, playing on the porosity between science and (science) fiction, two fields that have made nature a privileged terrain for experimentation.
From scientific documentaries to animist beliefs, from the anxieties linked to genetic mutation to political narratives, from repulsion to fascination, plants offer an inexhaustible source of stories that reveal our deepest desires and fears.
Image : Agnieszka Polska, The Book of Flowers, 2023
Video HD, 9 min 38 sec
© Agnieszka Polska Courtesy of the Galerie Dawid Radziszewski, Warsaw
Laure Albin Guillot · Anna Atkins · Karl Blossfeldt · Henry Bradbury · Stan Brakhage · Jean Comandon · Imogen Cunningham · Gohar Dashti · Rebekka Deubner · Elspeth Diederix · Ágnes Dénes · Kalev Erickson · Sam Falls · Éléonore False · Joan Fontcuberta · Stephen Gill · Walon Green · Olga Grotova · Peter Hutchinson · Pierre Joseph · Horst P. Horst · Philip Kaufman · Ali Kazma · Samir Laghouati-Rashwan · Jochen Lempert · Angelika Loderer · Angelica Mesiti · Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau · Frank Oz · Alice Pallot · Agniezska Polska · Max Reichmann · Albert Renger-Patzsch · Philippe Roux · Miljohn Ruperto · Stuart A. Staples · Timur Si-Qin · Steve Sekely · Richard Tepe · Charles T. Scowen · Pierre Joseph · Anaïs Tondeur · Edward Weston
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Anna Atkins, Asplenium angustifolium, Cyanotype print, 33x23 cm, c.1852 Courtesy Wilson Centre for Photography -
Karl Blossfeldt, Mesembrianthemum linguiforme, Zaserblume, Mittagsblume (Eispflanze) / Ice Plant, c. 1925 Silver gelatine print, 29,7x23,8 cm © Karl Blossfeldt Archiv - Ann und Jürgen a2024 Courtesy Kicken Berlin Private collection, Royaume-Uni -
Stan Brakhage, image from the movie The Garden of Earthly Delight, 1981 © Estate of Stan Brakhage Courtesy Marilyn Brakhage -
Ágnes Dénes, Wheatfield – A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan – With Ágnes Dénes Standing in the Field, 1982, photography by John McGrail Chromogenic development print, 40x50 cm © Ágnes Dénes Courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York -
Stephen Gill, Hackney Flowers, 2004-2007 © Stephen Gill Courtesy Archive of Modern Conflict -
Miljohn Ruperto et Ulrik Heltoft, Études botaniques Voynich, 50 Leto, 2014 50x40 cm © Miljohn Ruperto et Ulrik Heltoft Courtesy Friends Indeed Gallery, San Francisco, et Vacancy Gallery, Shanghai -
Elspeth Diederix, Digitalis ferruginea, 2019, from the serie « The Miracle Garden » 40x30 cm © Elspeth Diederix Courtesy Stigter van Doesburg, Amsterdam -
Frank Percy Smith, image from the movie Minute Bodies: The intimate world of F. Percy Smith de Stuart A. Staples, 2017 Courtesy British Film Institute
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