AboutTravelling Plants is a transdisciplinary project curated by Lina Vincent and led by the Goethe Institut Chennai, in collaboration with the Alliance Française of Madras and the Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP).
A multiphase project commencing with a residency at IFP and culminating with a series of exhibitions across India and Sri Lanka, Travelling Plants brings together five visual and research-based artists Karolina Grzywnowicz (Germany), Wendy Therméa (Reunion Island, France), Danushka Marasinghe (Sri Lanka), Waylon D’souza (India) and Rashmimala (India) selected on the basis on their artistic practises intersecting with the natural world.
During the four week residency, the artists were presented with a diverse programme which included hands on workshops, field trips, a series of lectures and presentations from experts and the opportunity to directly interact and exchange knowledge with in-house researchers, scientists and technicians including learning to preserve their own herbarium specimens.
Since April, the artists have been further developing ideas sparked by the research, herbarium and their learnings and interactions at IFP. Exploring varied historical and contemporary sociocultural, political and environmental concerns, and presenting them through their own lenses, the five artists will showcase their work at the Travelling Plants exhibition from 14th June to 29th June at Alliance Française of Madras.
Sheena Maria Piedade
The artists attend a cyanotype workshop led by Karthik Subramanian Travelling Plants artists
Curators Note
The physical and theoretical starting point for the project Travelling Plants is the Herbarium at the French Institute at Pondicherry, but where does the story of travelling plants actually begin?
Do we look millions of years ago when masses of land shifted across the oceans to meet new ones? Or the seeds that migrated with the first humans and animals who traversed the earth? Do we pin it on early European conquests and trade routes of the 15th century, that are said to have begun the modern capitalist world system, or the creolisation of cultures and the reconfiguration of biodiversity that occurred in the aftermath of colonialism. Additionally, climatic changes across millennia, connected with cosmic, geological and other upheavals, have seen the extinction, transformation and survival of varied species. Simply put, the answer exists within all these, and provides the reason one must look anew, every day, at the science of plantsto understand, respond to, and evaluate the complex and intertwined history of plant and human life.
In general, concepts like ‘Ecology’ or the ‘Environment’ occupy a largely amorphous space, without clarity in definition, and conservation is therefore discussed in diverse contexts. Projects like this one bring the necessary focus and specificity to the identification of various streams of knowledge pertaining to nature, turning the lens on individual and collective responsibilities that lie in its preservation.
Dr. Balachandran Natesan explains the specimen collection process
Impelled by the vulnerability of the planet in our current times, contemporary discourse must continually develop vocabulary to cope with change – ‘sustainable’ living is no more a possibility without understanding carbon-footprints and intergenerational equity; the emotional aftermath of climate change is named with terms like ecological grief and climate anxiety, and most importantly, there is a significant acknowledgement of marginalised groups, whether by caste, class, gender, ethnicity or region, and the politics and economics surrounding resource distribution. For instance, ‘Anthropocene’, that divides the blame equally on all human activity, is being replaced by the more direct ‘Capitalocene’ that holds petro-capitalism squarely accountable for global heating.
In the current debates involving the mitigation of, or adaptation to complex alterations of biodiversity, art can offer an interface for dialogue and allow for intrinsic and meaningful communication across boundaries. Though largely working in silos, the integration of arts, science and research-based practices allows for osmosis, wherein crossdisciplinary conversation is generated and crucial studies and decisions that affect our combined present and future are highlighted.
Institutions such as IFP are both repositories of information and spaces that offer an experimental ground for mapping responses to climate challenges.
The five artists had transdisciplinary interactions that offered the gravity of analytical systems and factual data to their creative explorations. They also interacted with beauty and aesthetics of a different kind, embedded in the microcosmic and macrocosmic elements of the botanical world. Amidst a disorienting contemporary, art and science can lend vigour and meaning to each other.
THE ARTISTS WORKS
The exhibition brings together the five artists’ ongoing projects that are representative of their individual research lenses and creative processes. These presentations are a result of expanded responses to the learnings and observations gathered from the various sites and discussions they engaged with, in both traditional and contemporary contexts. The works also highlight synergies from their shared experiences at the Residency.
The plant-world, being the protagonist of the narrative, is introduced within a multilayered landscape of references that map elusive connections between diverse subjects: sacred forests and utopian scenarios, the politics of land use, notions of feminism and patriarchy, poetic cultural renderings and even the documentation of the mundane – the artists, as witnesses to contemporary times, utilise visual, sensory, and technological pathways in order to communicate their ideas.
Danushka Marasinghe works at intersections of biology, politics and technology. He foregrounds matters of conflict, commenting on aspects of invasiveness as opposed to native belonging, and critiques human supremacy, drawing parallels between human and plant life in the aftermath of colonialism and its impact.
Using the device of a timeline, Waylon D’ Souza creates a web of information and overlapping histories. He contrasts and combines indigenous and western knowledge systems, broadly annotating historical relations of power, ethics, economies and nature through a standpoint of creative activism.
Rashmimala’s practice is deeply ingrained within the visuality and aesthetics of the botanical world. Drawing connections between colonial histories, environmental urgencies, and plant presences in the domestic and mundane space – she unearths the stories that plants tell, this time engaging with the microcosmic world of pollen.
Wendy Thermea’s multimedia presentation builds links between her native landscape, and the culturally alien yet botanically related landscape of south India. Responding to ecological cycles and rhythms, her work blends an introspective, poetic engagement with the natural world, with discussions on climate change, and in this case, invasive species.
The artists interact with the IFP herbarium specimens
Prominently underpinned in Karolina Grzywnowicz’s artistic research are themes of social justice, geo-politics, colonial history and native rights, and the instrumentalization of plants and land. Bringing together aspects of personal documentation and scientific study, her project connects past to present, provoking thought and raising questions.
As art historian TJ Demos asks, what role can the arts play in cultivating liveability amidst this profound and intensifying disorientation, at once geological, socio-political, and economic?
While these artistic projects are not a replacement for activism, artists help us understand the necessity for new languages and value systems, ones that respond to past and present, that create different visions of our collective future. The projects become ongoing investigations in the artists existing practices, and have an afterlife in varied other dialogues and communications that build connectedness. Art can, and does do more than look pretty, though beauty too is a tool for communication and a site for resistance.
WHAT CAN AN EXHIBITION DO?
Exhibitions foregrounding ecology and partnerships of artists with scientists have existed since the 90s in response to climate crises, and have been growing in regularity the world over. Repositories of science and history are important, as is the interaction of artists and others with these spaces, that facilitate the development of a transdisciplinary discourse on matters urgent to our collective times. When worldviews are brought together, it opens up possibilities for local, national and international conversation and collaboration a time of sociological, cultural and technological shifts.
Surrounding the central theme of plant migration, the exhibition sets forth a series of thoughts, responses, propositions and questions, inviting curiosity, participation and contemplation.
Exhibition-making itself is debated about, in terms of sustainability and carbon-impact. As cultural practitioners, even while being aware and sensitive to the use of resources, one cannot give up on the possibility of public dialogues that art makes possible – there must continue to be an attempt to decolonise the everyday world, and to bring about the belief that climate protection is a human right and responsibility.
Lina Vincent , 2024
Artist Statements and Artwork
Plants are close companions to all beings. They are familiar presences on pathways, a sight one is constantly drawn to. In ‘Trailing Traces’, the artistic gaze moves from mere glancing to an investigation. The project delves into the multilayered histories that plants carry within them, including their own migratory patterns.
The concept traverses the observation of the Amaranthus as a central figure; specifically, select few from the several species of Amaranths, gathered from the plant’s archival records at IFP. As a specimen, it lays on an herbarium sheet, objectified, amongst thousands of other such samples collected by different hands from diverse locations at various periods in time. Moving a step further in the investigation, it is possible to look at its microscopic presence as pollen samples staked in slides, arranged neatly within boxes inside an ecological research laboratory. This constitutes a forensic investigation of a plant; it is a visual perusal by the means of recording various aspects of the species, along with their stories of
survival and migration.
Amaranths are a widely distributed, sometimes ruderal plant seen in many parts of the world, native to some regions and invasive elsewhere. Many plants of this species are edible and can grow in the most congested urban sidewalks or even wastelands, besides being cultivated as food or as ornamentation for parks and gardens.
The plant (alive or dead), and the information-impregnated pollen grain can narrate multiple stories of its being; pollen is not only the key to the plant’s survival, it also offers clues to climate change. It could be hidden deep in the soil, waiting to be discovered. Thus, as each pollen grain has its own story embedded within, the project seeks to understand the nuances of a plant’s phases of life and the multiple narratives that can be unravelled.
Trailing traces
Rashmimala
Installation of paintings and drawings, 2024
‘Lekilib’ encapsulates the meeting point of India and the island of La Réunion, with the blend of Indian craft traditions with Reunionese influences. However, this harmony is tinged with sadness as it reflects mankind’s inadvertent disruption of the balance through the introduction of water hyacinth into both ecosystems.
It is fascinating to observe how the invasive water hyacinth can be a either a problem or a benefit depending on circumstances. It can cause the drying of lakes, suffocating fish and also trigger flooding. As an advantage, it can absorb up to 10 times its weight in hydrocarbons.
becomes the canvas for imagery, connecting living and dried plants. The projections navigate between video and painting, while a subtle symphony envelops spectators in a sensory experience.
‘Lekilib’ invites visitors to delve into the heart of nature’s duality, wherein beauty and destruction dance in a precarious balance. Bringing together ancestral techniques and modern technology, the artwork transcends boundaries between art and nature, offering a poetic testament to our multilayered relationship with the world around us. Through this work, we are invited to contemplate the complexity of the environment, to celebrate its splendor while becoming aware of our responsibility to preserve it.
Lekilib (Balance: Translated from Réunion Creole) Wendy Therméa
Video installation with sound on water hyacinth mat, 04: 29” (loop) 2024
‘Lekilib’ is an artistic ode to waterhyacinth, at the centre of a duality between its enchanting beauty and destructive impact. This immersive creation combines the delicacy of artisanal weaving, crafted from water-hyacinth fibers, with the evocative power of video projection to provoke reflection on our fragile relationship with nature. Like a living painting, the mat
The artwork reminds us of our interconnected future with the planet, urging collective efforts for harmony.
“ In calm waters, you dance endlessly, Water hyacinth, queen of endless rivers. Your exotic beauty, your ephemeral bloom, Hides a secret, a bitter force.
From distant lands, you spread, Invading the shores like an unexpected breath. Your violet flowers, so delicate to behold, Hide your invasive nature, difficult to appreciate.
Introduced by man, in a quest for beauty, You crossed the seas, bringing eternity with you. In India, you found a new home, Becoming both blessing and bane.
Indian rivers, once free and clear, Saw their veins fill with your light. Likewise, on Réunion island, you made your way, Carrying your burden of duality, sweetness, and sorrow.
In your radiance, I see a striking paradox, A troubling beauty, an incessant invader. You purify the waters, but you suffocate the lakes, A dilemma of nature, an entanglement of facts.
The Indian laborers, with their knowledge and dreams, Wove stories on the island
The weaving of fibers, an ancestral tradition, Took root on Réunion’s land.
Thus, from India to La Réunion, a connection is woven, A thread of culture, of pain and delight. You are the symbol of this complex union, Where man and nature seek their annex.
In the murky waters, you float silently, Water hyacinth, separator of infinite worlds. Your green carpet creates an uncertain boundary, Between the realm of air and the serene abyss.
Where the winds dance and the birds come to rest. Guardian of the waters, weaver of invisible bonds.
You are the keeper of these two realities, A living bridge between opposing extremes. Your existence unites the sky and the sea, Revealing the hidden beauty of the mystery.
You invite us to see beyond appearances, To understand that balance lies in the nuances, That life, like water, flows and transforms, And that our future is written in the currents of our actions.
Yet, in your essence, I find a lesson, On the fragile balance of all creation. Your presence reminds us of the necessity, To respect nature in all its complexity.
Water hyacinth, symbol of duality, Between grace and intrusion, freedom and necessity. May your story teach us to seek harmony, Between man and nature, in this endless dance.
I chose the water hyacinth for its invasive nature, To question the boundary between what invades and what belongs. It floats, light, in the territories of water, Between the living and the dry, between life and death.
In it, everything is balance, everything is equilibrium, What lives must die, and what dies nourishes life. This is where the beauty of the hyacinth lies, In its incessant cycle, in its perpetual struggle.
It is the embodiment of nature in constant evolution, A reminder that we are all integral parts of this great whole.
Each leaf, each root, a story to tell, Each breath, each silence, a melody to hear. “
Lekilib (Balance: Translated from Réunion Creole) : Between what is and what is no longer, our interconnection 2024, Therméa Wendy
‘Exotic Plants’ is a project about landscapes of power, the politics of planting and the ways in which territory can be colonised through plants. Any plant can be weaponised, but some are particularly well suited to this, causing permanent and often irreversible changes to the environment.
The Western Ghats along with the Nilgiris have been recognised as one of the world’s ten biodiversity hotspots. The Nilgiris have been inhabited for centuries by the indigenous tribes of Toda, Kurumba, Kota, Irula. Their lives are inextricably linked with shola forests, grasslands and rivers; their gods and ancestors inhabit sacred hills and streams. This coexistence has influenced the way the tribes shared and utilised the land. The Toda reside in the highest parts of the mountains, where the grasslands serve as crucial grazing lands for their buffaloes. It is said, “If there are no buffalos, there is no Toda”.
first made the Nilgiris a summer resort and later began clearing local vegetation for tea plantations. They grew European vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants in their gardens, and planted familiar pine forests. Following Indian independence, tea plantations became a cornerstone of the region’s economy. Grasslands, categorised as wasteland and the consequence of human activity, were converted extensively into eucalyptus and acacia forests, seeded from aircraft. Indigenous peoples lost their habitat and the Toda’s grazing grounds vanished slowly.
The analysis of pollen from marshes in the Nilgiris shows that the grassland and shola complex existed 35,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest evergreen forests on Earth. Pollen is a long-term set of evidence that is right under our feet. ‘Exotic Plants’ project explores the political potential of pollen as an effective tool against displacement and land appropriation.
Exotic Plants
Karolina Grzywnowicz
Video, textile (Toda embroidery), and olfactory installation (eucalyptus essential oil from Nilgiris), 2024
The natural cool climes helped popularise the region among British colonisers in the 19th century, who
Acknowledgements: Kuba Rudzinski, Vasamalli K, Anna Garncarczyk, Ranjani Prasad, Faisal Rehman, Dr Tarun Chhabra
For the Toda people, embroidery is a sacred ritual and an important community-building activity, the ancient patterns form coded messages, a special kind of map and are a repository of knowledge passed down from generation to generation for centuries.
The artist’s mind sifts information like a loom wherein the threads are dyed and flavored with his memories of research and practice; the experience of tastes and smells. In this work, he has woven together his learnings and that of others, along with aspects of history, to understand the taming of plants by geological, climatological and anthropological hands in order to appreciate the ever-changing Indian garden.
His existing fascination for, and study of the Borassus, Corypha, exotic palms and invasive species was further heightened on being exposed to the comprehensive research at IFP. That has been intertwined with being a spectator and envoy to history, medicine, astrology and human memory through its material use as manuscript leaves.
He found meaning in perceiving the directions in Linnaeus’s dissection of plants and Goethe’s perspective of botany as an alternate form of science that rejected the divisions between public and private, amateur and professional.
“Male European dominance over botany emerging as a science in the eighteenth century, also represented a break in another tradition: herbalism. Traditionally, across many cultures, women were the mistresses of the world of herbs and plants. Natural history was mostly a domestic science, used in medicine and cooking”.
(Shahnaz Habib ‘Colonising Plants: How Bougainvillea conquered the world’, Lithub, 2023)
Waylon’s process has been to expand from the present, personal, borrowed and shared memories into both, the past and the future, by creating a visual timeline with multiple axis of quantitative references for consideration. They form the framework of a Sari, Kolam and other sensory objects for collective contemplation as we perceive, conserve, alter or assist the evolution of our ecosystems.
Garden of Time: The changing landscape of the Southern Peninsula through ‘fact’ and ‘fiction’
Waylon J. D’Souza
Installation with printed fabric, seed kolam, fossils and aromatic essence, 2024
Rooted Perspectives: A Collective Response to Plant Blindness
Community Art Project by
Parvathi Nayar
The flight path of my interest in the idea of “Plant Blindness” stretches back in time to a blue skies day. I was idly window-gazing as my airplane headed towards touchdown at Chennai airport, when the trees on view clicked into focus a moment of epiphany: we actually have so much urban greenery in our city.
Plant Blindness refers to the human tendency to overlook or undervalue plants in their environment. The term, first coined by botanists James Wandersee and Elisabeth Schussler in 1998, is a powerful descriptor of collective human indifference to the harm being done to their environment. This phenomenon affects people’s perception and understanding of plants, leading to a lack of appreciation of their importance in daily life and urban settings, ecosystems, agriculture, medicine, and even aesthetics.
In Chennai we have more greenery than we realise –but if we don’t acknowledge what there is, it is easily lost. It also become impossible to energise people to add to our green cover. Plant Blindness can hinder conservation efforts and biodiversity awareness, as well as limit opportunities for botanical education and research. It’s a critical issue that highlights the need for increased recognition and celebration of plant life.
Rooted Perspectives is a community project that I designed as an active provocation against plant blindness: I requested the people of Chennai to send in photos of trees and plants that felt special to them. To set the “urban forest” of my installation firmly within Chennai, I travelled around the city recording its sounds. I also invited Varshini and Bhuvani, two young photographers, to capture as wide a representation as possible of the diversity of plants all over Chennai.
Along with my photographs and looped sound, their works, and those sent in by the community all feature in the installation, Rooted Perspectives: A Collective Response to Plant Blindness, that responds to the broader theme of “Travelling Plants”. Through creating opportunities to share personal stories of plants and trees, this lens-based installation reminds us of our close bond of coexistence with Nature.
PARVATHI NAYAR is a Chennai-based multidisciplinary artist and writer, and known for her complex drawing practices, installations, and video art. Her work emphasises sustainability, delving into Climate Change and ecological issues; water, in all its aspects, is a consistent theme.
Notable solo exhibitions include “Atlas of ReImaginings” and “Drawing is a Verb” while her installations, such as “Dreamcatcher” “Ocean’s Breath” and ‘Chicken Ru”’, engage with public spaces and”diverse mediums. Parvathi’s global presence in group shows, biennales, films featured in international festivals, and her contributions as a writer underscore her multifaceted artistic career.
She completed her Masters in Fine Art from Central St Martins, London, on a Chevening scholarship, and has received acclaim for her impactful TEDx talks.
Meet the Residency Artists
Wendy Therméa (Reunion Islands, France)
Karolina Grzywnowicz (Germany)
Rashmimala (India)
Waylon J. D’Souza (India)
Danushka Marasinghe (Sri Lanka)
KAROLINA GRZYWNOWICZ is a Berlin-based visual artist whose work bridges contemporary art, research, and activism. Her works deal with plants in social and political context, often of a violent nature. She perceives landscape as a living archive in which traces of past events are recorded. Her methodology involves working with specialists across various disciplines e.g. botanists, soil researchers, hydrologists and local people to allow for a space of interaction and exchange of knowledge. She is interested in the practices of weak resistance, everyday activities, seemingly unnoticed gestures that have the power to resist oppression. She works in various media: installation, sculpture, film; she creates situations and art interventions. Her works have been exhibited widely. She holds a degree in Comparative Literature.
WENDY THERMÉA
is a visual artist who lives and works in Reunion Island, where she spent her childhood surrounded by nature. Influenced and marked by the diversity of its territories, whether terrestrial or aquatic, she engages in a dialogue between the landscape and her own body. In this way, she constantly questions the link(s) we can create with our environment. Combining metaphor and poetry, the artist draws inspiration from her own history, the cycle of life and the movements of nature. She works mainly with video installations inviting the viewer to a sensory experience, whether auditory, olfactory and/or visual. She obtained a DNSEP, a master’s equivalent degree in the arts in 2022, participating in a group exhibition and two-month residency the same year.
WAYLON J. D’SOUZA is a Goa-based transdisciplinary artist and designer with a research-driven practice, collating principles of education, philosophy, and culture to iterate pan-disciplinary experiments in sustainability science. He has trained in a matrix of symbiotic disciplines including fine arts, animation, aquaponics, permaculture, and industrial design at various institutes. Waylon’s experimental practice moves into varied mediums, forms of expression, and articulations, reorganising elements to produce novel manifestations. His practise proposes environmental solutions through materially symbolic, and highly conceptual visual works.
RASHMIMALA is an artist based in Varodara, who engages with the interface of ecology and art – drawing from a variety of sources such as museum collections, archival documents, academic scholarship, field data and the genre of botanical art. She has exhibited widely, participating in both group and solo shows, one of which focused on representing minor local plants along the genre of botanical illustrations, natural history documentations and historical anecdotes. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Painting, in addition to a Masters in Art Criticism.
DANUSHKA MARASINGHE is a Sri Lankan artist whose creative focus revolves around moving images in expanded formats. He has a Bachelors in Multimedia Arts and a Masters in Art and Design. His artistic practice delves deeply into surveillance culture, the legacies of violence, and the commodification of images within the spectacle economy. Marasinghe’s work incorporates sculptural and sonic elements, forming an expressive vocabulary that underscores his philosophical inquiries that pivot around the fundamental ontological yearning for understanding and connection through the idea of the image. He has participated in art events, exhibitions and residencies in Sri Lanka and internationally.
Quotes & Thoughts
“Until now, the IFP herbarium was mainly used by researchers and botanists for their research. Opening up this formidable source of information and images of India’s biodiversity to artists led to rich exchanges between researchers and artists, both of whom approach plants in different manners. IFP researchers were delighted to share how they collect, recognize and identify these plants, how they classify and inventory them, how they compare and conserve them, and what they are used for. The questions raised by the artists inspired us to consider new perspectives and ways of observing differently.”
Dr. Blandine Ripert, Director of French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP)
“Travelling Plants offers a new perspective to look at history in general and add another layer to the stories of migration as well as science. Just like people and knowledge plants have been travelling for centuries. Through the artistic projects rooted in the beautiful herbarium of IFP, we now have a chance to get to know these stories.”
Dr. Katharina Görgen, Director of Goethe-Institut Chennai
“Through their collective artistic exploration, these artists are breathing life into forgotten stories and offering new perspectives on the intricate tapestry of travelling plants. Looking forward to a fascinating exhibition starting in Chennai!” “
Dr. Patricia Théry-Hart, Director of Alliance Française of Madras.
“I did a tour of the manuscript collection at IFP with some of the artists. We discussed the different aspects of the work here at the department, talking about manuscripts, about the collection, a lot about a number of things about art, about the types of content that we have in the collection and so on. I also shared a few things, materials for them, including some manuscript photographs, academic works on nature and particularly trees and plants that are sacred here in Hinduism in India. One of the things that we really enjoyed discussing was interdisciplinarity and how my own work has a lot to do with visual anthropology and material religion and sort of the multi -sensory approaches to the subject matter. I do believe that arts and sciences and arts and research can enrich each other. Very often artists have a unique way of looking and interacting with things and people and with events and phenomena, and so that unique perspective is something that can always be enriching for us. “ Dr. Borayin Larios (Indology)
ACTIVATION PROGRAMMES
GOETHE-INSTITUT / MAX MUELLER BHAVAN PUNE
Can plants travel? And how? The grown plant is rooted in the soil and therefore cannot travel, the seeds however can. And there are numerous ways for the seeds to travel - by wind, water, animals and by humans.
This exhibition explores how plants travelled due to human intervention, for aesthetic, political and economic reasons. In tracing some remarkable journeys of travelling plants in this exhibition, the exhibition uncovers a tapestry of interconnected histories that highlight the enduring bond between nature and humanity. Plants have not only shaped our environments but have also enriched our lives, reminding us of the ongoing exchange between the natural world and human innovation. Reflecting on their legacy, the exhibition encourages one to appreciate the delicate balance of ecosystems and the impact of our global interactions, inviting one to be thoughtful stewards of the living world we share.
The exhibition is the culmination of a transdisciplinary, multiphase project led by Goethe-Institut Chennai in collaboration with Alliance Française of Madras, and Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP). Beginning with a residency centered around the Herbarium at IFP in March 2024, ‘Travelling Plants’ brings together works of Indian and international artists selected for their creative practices intersecting with the natural world.
In Pune, the exhibition will be presented at and in collaboration with the Rupa Rahul Bajaj Centre for Environment & Art (RRBCEA) Pune.
The activation program is curated by Abhijit Patil, the curator of our local project Seed Stories.
The overlaps, intersections and synergies between Travelling Plants and Seed Stories will be carefully explored throughout the exhibition.
Exhibition Opening Sunday, 10th November 2024 5 PM onwards Rupa Rahul Bajaj Centre for Environment & Art, Empress Garden, Pune
Trees are all around us. Let us go on a ‘safari’ to meet some trees and learn how they arrived in our neighborhood.
This walk will be led by Sayee Girdhari.
Sayee is a Project Coordinator with SeasonWatch, a citizen science project tracking seasonal changes in trees to understand the impact of climate change in India.
Tree enthusiasts can monitor the stages of leaves, flowers and fruits once every week on trees anywhere in India.
The observations can be uploaded on the SeasonWatch website or android application.
This data helps us visualise patterns of tree seasonality and their deviation due to climate change.
Tree walks are a way to connect with trees around us and find the motivation to engage with them.
Sayee Girdhari has done a Master’s in Botany from Savitribai Phule Pune University. After graduating, she worked on a project with the Karnataka State Biodiversity Board that took her all over the state to explore and document plant species. She later worked as a Biodiversity Analyst at Terracon Ecotech Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, conducting floral surveys and writing reports for various stakeholders in the corporate and municipal corporations. Here, she learnt skills to engage with different audiences with plants and biodiversity.
She is currently working with the SeasonWatch Project at the Nature Conservation Foundation, where she conducts outreach for the project. She conducts webinars, workshops, training sessions and tree walks to connect people with trees and encourage them to monitor trees around them to track the impact of climate change across India.
Sayee speaks passionately about plants and aims to make everyone see how amazing they are!
Tree Walk with SeasonWatch Thursday, 14th November 2024
8 AM - 10 AM
Rupa Rahul Bajaj Centre for Environment & Art, Empress Garden, Pune
Join us for an insightful morning walk through the Empress Botanical Gardens led by biodiversity expert Kedar Champekar. This session will give participants the opportunity to explore a diverse collection of trees, both native and exotic, that populate this historic garden. Champekar will share his extensive knowledge of each tree’s unique characteristics, origins and ecological role, helping participants gain a deeper appreciation of the biodiversity around them.
This early morning walk is a chance to connect with nature, explore the vital role of different tree species and deepen your knowledge of biodiversity in a beautiful, tranquil setting. All are welcome!
Kedar Champekar holds a master’s degree in Biodiversity from the University of Pune and has been involved in research, education and outreach in this field for over 17 years. As a freelance biodiversity assessor and educator, he has extensive experience in assessing and promoting environmental understanding through engaging, hands-on experiences.
Exploring the flora of Empress Garden and tracking their journey
Guided Tree Walk Thursday, 15th November 2024
7 AM - 9 AM
Rupa Rahul Bajaj Centre for Environment & Art, Empress Garden, Pune
In this immersive Cyanotype Workshop participants will create their own botanical prints using cyanotype—a historic photographic technique first used in the 19th century to document plant specimens.
We’ll begin with a look at the origins of cyanotype, pioneered by botanist Anna Atkins, who created the very first botanical prints with this vivid blue process.
Guided step-by-step, participants will coat, arrange, and develop their prints using specimens collected the day before, blending art, science, and nature’s beauty in one inspiring session.
Perfect for anyone interested in botanical art, history, and photography!
Chaitanya Guttikar while pursuing his doctorate in mathematics at Princeton University, USA, in 2007, first encountered platinum-palladium prints during a gallery visit in New York. It was love at first sight.
He has been exploring and researching cyanotypes, platinum-palladium and other alternative processes ever since.
In May 2010, he left his professor job at University of Miami to return to India and became the technical director of the Goa Center for Alternative photography (Goa-CAP).
He now works as a mathematician, writer and cinematographer based in Pune.
Botanical Blues
Cyanotype Workshop Friday, 16th November 2024 10 AM - 1:30 PM
Rupa Rahul Bajaj Centre for Environment & Art, Empress Garden, Pune
Plants have long travelled the world, moving across continents with the help of natural forces, animals and humans. These plant migrations have impacted landscapes, ecosystems and human cultures, becoming embedded in our food, gardens, medicine and rituals over the centuries. Yet today, the distinction between native and non-native plants has become a focus of conservation and environmental dialogue. Why do we care about ‘native’ species in a world where movement and adaptation are constants? This open discussion will address the complexities of plant classification and invite participants to consider what “native” really means in our interconnected world.
This event is open to anyone interested in ecology, biodiversity, and the cultural significance of plants. No prior knowledge is required, only an open mind and a curiosity about the natural world and the stories of plants that shape it.
Dr. Aparna Watve serves as the Coordinator of the IUCN SSC Western Ghats Plant Specialist Group. With a doctorate in vegetation ecology, Dr. Watve’s research spans special habitats like Rock Outcrops and the integration of conservation planning with livelihoods and community development. She has taught at premier institutes, including the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Bharati Vidyapeeth, focusing on the intersections of environment and society. Her dedication to ecological preservation is further evident in her roles on the High-Level Monitoring Committee of the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani Ecosensitive Area and the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board.
Panellists: Dr Mahesh Shindikar, Abhijit Patil
What is native?
Panel Discussion Saturday, 17th November 2024
4 PM - 6 PM
Rupa Rahul Bajaj Centre for Environment & Art, Empress Garden, Pune
LINA VINCEN T is an independent art historian and curator with two decades experience in arts management. Since 2009, the focus areas of her research have extended to projects with arts education, printmaking history and practice, the documentation of living traditions and folk arts in India, and environmental consciousness in the arts.
Her ongoing engagements include ‘Goa Familia’, archival photography project, Serendipity Arts Foundation; ‘Sunaparanta Art Initiator Lab’, Goa (S.A.I.L) mentoring project, and ‘Travelling Plants’ a multi-phase exhibition in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Chennai. She just concluded the development of ‘Sandooka – The Living Museum of Kodava Culture,’ virtual museum commissioned by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA). She is an Associate Curator with ARTPORT_making waves – global arts program for climate-action. She has curated numerous exhibitions with galleries across India and contributes to publications on art history and contemporary cultural practices. Lina has a BFA in printmaking from Bangalore University and MFA in Art History from the same institution.
ACKN O W LEDGMENT S
Goethe-Institut Pune: Markus Biechele, Renu Jamgaonkar, Pranav Pawar
Goethe-Institut Chennai: Dr. Katharina Görgen, Geetha Vedaraman, Arun Sankar, Jennifer Mary
Alliance Française of Madras: Patricia Théry-Hart, Pooja Tayal
Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP): Blandine Ripert, Doris
Barboni, Julien Andrieu, Borayin Larios, Delphine Thivet, Thomas
Drouin, Balachandran Natesan, Barathan Narayanan, Uma
Maheswari, Karthik Subramanian, Marine Al Dahdah, Alexis Avdeef,
