Artists Statement

Guided tour, Nelson Mandela Garden, May 17

The Traveling Plant: The Veridical Travel Around the World of A True Imaginary Plant

The Traveling Plant is a collective project created in 2020 by Annick Bureaud, Tatiana Kourochkina, Marta de Menezes, Claudia Schnugg and Robertina Šebjanič, and further developed with the following seed organisations Leonardo/Olats (Paris), Quo Artis (Barcelona and Treviso), Cultivamos Cultura (Lisbon), Sektor Institute (Ljubljana) and the initial support of the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation.

The Veridical Travel Around The World of A True Imaginary Plant traces the voyage of a plant —real, artificial or fictitious— around the world, telling its own story, the stories of other plants and living creatures (other than human and humans) it encounters, of whom and what it meets.

It is the umbrella title for a series of new artworks and events taking place in different times and locations around the world under the direction of the diverse participating organisations and curators

The Peripatetic Tour of the Nelson Mandela Garden in Paris above ISEA
May 17th 2023, 12:00 – 13:15 CET
Free by registration

Location
Paris, France

Zone: Continental
Altitude: Low (Plains)
Eco-system: Gardens / Building

Venue
Nelson Mandela Garden
Les Halles
All. Jules Supervielle
75001 Paris

Climate: Temperate
Humidity: Moderate
Light: Gardens / Building
Soil: Concrete & pavement – Woodchips – Unknown
Vibrations: Noisy (many)

Organiser
Leonardo/Olats

Nature of the event
A guided tour of the Nelson Mandela Garden leaded by artist Eva-Maria Lopez as part of the artistic programme of ISEA2023 in Paris

Event Space: Outside
Humans around: Many

Curatorial statement

The Traveling Plant has been selected for ISEA Paris and is thrilled to discover the Nelson Mandela Garden, laying right above the ISEA venue, at the very centre of the City. Under the guidance of artist Eva-Maria Lopez and with the active participation of ISEA attendees and free audience, in the now traditional art and science methodologies of fieldtrips and walkspaces, The Traveling Plant is walked through five Stations to uncover a new understanding of this specific designed urban environment. Eva-Maria Lopez is reading the garden through some selected plants and areas, bringing to the forefront stories —historical, economical, political and botanical— that the plants are embodying. The Tour is part of her project The Gentlemen in my garden.

Curators
The Traveling Plant Team: Annick Bureaud, Tatiana Kourochkina, Marta de Menezes, Claudia Schnugg, Robertina Šebjanič

Participants
Eva-Maria Lopez
Annick Bureaud, Tatiana Kourochkina, Claudia Schnugg, Robertina Šebjanič
ISEA audience members
Passers-by

Commissioned projects
The Gentlemen in my garden, by Eva-Maria Lopez

Name of the plants
Local name: Magnolia
English name: Magnolia
Latin name: Magnolia soulangeana

Local name: Oiseau de paradis, Strelitzia
English name: Bird of paradise, Strelitzia
Latin name: Strelitzia reginae ‘Mandela’s Gold’

https://www.olats.org/the-traveling-plant

• Eva-Maria Lopez is an artist working with the themes of nature, ecology and their historical contexts. In her projects, she explores the relationship between object and environment. Her sensitivity to the destruction of natural habitats and resources, as well as socially anchored structures in contemporary societies, is highly visible. In her work, Lopez places various realities in new contexts and thereby make them visible.  https://www.evamarialopez.com