Herbarium Vivum

Driessens & Verstappen
road between Glass House and pont

Plant scientists study the adaptive capacities of plants under extreme conditions, as happens when new crop varieties are developed (that tolerate drought or that flourish in salinated soil, for instance). How far can you take this? Driessens & Verstappen found inspiration for their project in the Herbarium, where the shape of plants is manipulated by flattening them, and where the uniform categorization highlights their differences. In Herbarium Vivum the artists do the same with seven living crops. They made frames where the plants have to develop themselves into an almost two-dimensional growth form. The question arises whether the plants in the living herbarium will start to resemble their own representations in herbaria and botanical illustrations, as a result of manipulating the growth process.