exhibitions, lectures and press (selection) / 2024 / Writing the Garden

Lecture at the annual KWG panel

DIE HERREN IN MEINEM GARTEN  (THE GENTLEMENS IN MY GARDEN)
is a research about the proveninience of plants and there names. I have chosen ten plants of my garden dans mon studio in Karlsruhe, which are carrying - like the most plants - names of europeans researcher, botanist or scientist.
The names are belonging from the taxonomy of Carl Linné (1707-78) and is a typical example of colonization and occupation of forgein cultures. The research of plants was and is still a major parameter in science and economy.
The orignal plant names have been replace, mostly without any connection between the epnymous and the plants, like in the case of Dahlia:
Acocotle (water pipe flower) the origin mexican name was replaced by the director of the royal garden of Madrid, who called 1791 the plant to honor for the swedish botanist Andres Dahl, who died two years before. Today the original dahlia, the mexican national plant, is still grown and used in the Oaxacan cuisine; especially for their large, sweet potato-like tubers. Before the discovery of insulin, the derrivate of Dahlia tubers wich containg a naturally occurring form of fruit sugar where used for the diabetics. Nowadays, the plant hybrides is only know for one of the biggest varieties of flower types and the tubes are mostly thrown away in autumn.

„Die Herren in meinem Garten“is still work in progress, enclosed some photographies Depending on the plants, different kind of photography, maps and drawing are developped. The most works are ephemer, and related to the research and drawings of explorer and scientists from the 17. & 18.th century.
As a link to the present, the projekt is including, the claims of patents - from pharmaceutical and chemical companies, ignoring „the Convention of Bern“ - on the ingredients tradtionally used medical plants.

KWG - “Kulturwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft e.V.” (KWG) is the German-speaking scientific association for Cultural Studies. Founded in 2015 as an academic non-profit organization, the KWG aims to enhance and support inter– and transdisciplinary communication and collaboration through its annual conferences as well as its thematic sections and research networks. An advisory board with distinguished colleagues from the field of Cultural Studies assists the KWG in achieving its goals