Rooted Beings Perspective Tour at Wellcome Collection
Rooted Beings, Photo: Steven Pocock. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Sixto-Juan Zavala, founder of Queer Botany, gave a tour of the Rooted Beings exhibition at Wellcome Collection, looking at the collection from a queer botanical perspective. Participants were invited to bring their own stories and experiences of plants to share. Asking the questions, how can botany be queered and how can queerness be botanical? The event was free and open to the public. Over fifty visitors participated in the tour.
From Wellcome Collection:
‘Rooted Beings’ invites you to embark on a meditative reflection on the world of plants and fungi. The exhibition considers what we might learn from plant behaviour, and the impacts of colonial expeditions on the exploitation of natural resources and indigenous knowledges.
You’ll see botanical archives from Wellcome Collection and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew displayed alongside works by artists Gözde İlkin, Ingela Ihrman and Joseca, with new commissions by Patricia Domínguez, Eduardo Navarro, RESOLVE Collective and Sop.
Plants sustain life on earth. They are sensitive, complex and interconnected beings, playing surprisingly active roles in ecosystems and human societies. ‘Rooted Beings’ asks if we can become more rooted, attentive, flexible and caring – and attain vegetal enlightenment.
The exhibition is curated by Bárbara Rodríguez Muñoz with Emily Sargent.
Wellcome Collection Visitor Experience Assistant: Isabel Greenslade
