Utopia Botanica
From July 5th to September 22 th 2018 Laure Roynette gallery, Paris
Curators Pauline Lisowski / Soriana Stagnitta
With Pauline Bazignan, Emilie Bazus, Karine Bonneval, Julia Gault, François Génot, Zoé Rumeau.
Plants have always been subjects of observation, understanding and even transformation, inspiring artists. Sources of pleasure, pleasure and symbols, plants never stop hiding their mysteries. Depending on the time and territory, they convey stories, legends and many uses. Plants are also witnesses to the evolution of society, signs of resistance. They convey the desire to return to an earthly paradise, a dream space where nature is a source of energy and wonder.
Utopia Botanica invites you to explore the plant world, to open up all its related worlds. The works forge links between the human, animal and plant worlds. They question the need for contact with nature, the utopia of recreating one's paradise, of being able to travel, at home.
Karine Bonneval, whose works were presented at the Berlin Botanical Museum, questions the ways in which man appropriates the living. Two photographs make you dream of a metamorphosis of man into a plant. They reveal the plant as a vehicle for remembrance and guide the visitor to the exhibition. Then, nature enters the interior, like strange plants, coming from distant lands. His sculptures are reminiscent of living room terrariums that house plants. They attract by their baroque and exotic aspect and make us travel through the ages.
