Shared Seeds

Artists: Kalle Hamm & Dzamil Kammanger                             Curated by Katarzyna Sobucka

Kochi Muziris Biennale, Kochi, IN
21 Jan 2017

'Shared Seeds' involved the production of seven botanical drawings, all inspired by the works of the 19^th century Indian artists Rungiah and Govindoo; these figures contributed significantly to the publications of the Scottish botanist Robert Wight (1796–1872). Wright’s books, such as the black and white Icones Plantarum and Figures of Indian Plants, published between the 1820s and the 1850s, are considered some of the most useful guides to the flora of southern India.

Among the 2,115 plants described in Icones Plantarum there are seven plants which, over the course of the centuries, have arrived in the northern hemisphere and are rapidly growing as far as Finland.

The discrepancy between Indian and Finnish weather systems and climates encouraged the artists to unpack and explore these plants and their bio-spatial transitions across different geographic terrains. During the event at Pepper House, the artists – Kalle Hamm and Dzamil Kammanger – explored the historical and present day uses of these plants, including their culinary purposes, and they tracked the floral species’ journeys over time and geography.

Supported by Frame Finland.