What stories do plants tell, if we truly listen? What colonial entanglements and sensuous dimensions linger in botanical gardens?
The exhibition Botanic Futures is the result of an artistic-research collaboration between students of the University of Bonn and the artist Parisa Karimi. Together, they critically examine the colonial past and present of botanical knowledge production and open up new perspectives on plants.
Across six zines — handmade, multi-layered fold-out booklets—unfold stories of moss, Monstera, Pewen, Protea afra, sea thrift, and the cacao tree. These are narratives of migration, resistance, perception, and naming. They become visible through analogue and animated cyanotypes, brought to life on site through augmented reality.
The exhibition invites visitors to pause, to question, and to reflect — within the gardens, on the page, and in their own bodies
Cover: Kathi Rüll and Rebecca Zink