Biodiversity and (Plant) Reality

Artists: Ella Yolande, Evi Leuchtgelb, Stefan Rohner.

Curators:  Prof. Dr. Markus Fischer, Director of the Botanischen Gartens der Universität Bern and Videocity.

At first glance, plants are very approachable beings. They don't run away at the slightest provocation, and you don't normally need a microscope to see them. We are almost constantly surrounded by plants without being aware of them. Many people even suffer from “plant blindness”: plants are so ubiquitous that you stop noticing them. But anyone who takes a closer look at plants will be surprised by their otherness. They lack sensory organs such as eyes, ears or noses, which are so fundamental for our orientation. Nevertheless, plants find their way around in the world and interact with each other and their environment in a variety of ways. The selected videos show alienated, humorous-ironic or exaggerated-intensified perceptions of plants. We may have to imagine the reality of plants as being more like this, or even more alien. The works inspire us to reflect on the reality of plants and biodiversity.