‘‘The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and The Cosmic Tree”. (Camden Arts Centre, UK.)
ALTHOUGH part of me is somewhat resistant to the idea of an exhibition on the botanical existing entirely in digital form, I appreciate the impact of Covid19 on art galleries. If a digital platform may not seem entirely compatible with botanical life, I can also imagine some visitors finding the (hypothetical) physical, often sterile space of a gallery similarly unfitting for exploring the plant kingdom. Yet ‘‘The Botanical Mind’’ locates its inquiry at the intersection of botanical and human worlds: the exhibition is interested in not only affirming the importance of the plant kingdom through time and cultures, but the myriad ways in which plants have manifested what the West might separate might into ‘‘culture’’. My impression, or perhaps more accurately my projection, is that ‘‘The Botanical Mind’’ is seeking to disrupt the plant/human binary, which is perhaps why I am sensitive to the apparent wrenching of the botanical from any earthbound mooring.
Whether the digital performs an amputation or not, it is evident that this exhibition grew from its digital parameters and platform. It is not merely a translation from paintings on walls to photos on a screen. In addition to digital commissions of artworks, there are podcasts, films, texts, images, and audio. Interestingly, the six themes of the exhibition are presented as chapters rather than spaces or galleries. ‘‘Vegetal Ontology’’ investigates the compelling idea of plant sentience.