Diana Scherer – Die Intelligenz der Pflanzen

🎥 Oct 25, 2021 📺 Frankfurter Kunstverein ⏱ 3m 👁 1490 views

Ich benutze die unglaubliche Kraft des Wurzelwachstums. Die Wurzel sucht unter der Erde Wasser, Verankerung und viel Platz.

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About Diana Scherer

Diana Scherer, a German-born artist based in the Netherlands for 25 years, describes her work as a "collaboration with plant roots." She uses templates placed in soil to guide root growth, primarily with oat seeds, and after several weeks harvests the resulting root structures as textile-like pieces. Scherer stated that she began this work about ten years ago, transitioning from photography after creating a series of vases planted with different plants. She noted that she collaborated with a university in Nijmegen specializing in plant roots to develop her technique. For the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, Scherer said she was invited by José Roca and designed a new pattern connected to the theme of water, including a floor piece with a xylem pattern. She described her material research as having potential for future sustainable applications. Scherer also mentioned that she examined approximately 500 different plants during a year of research, and that she designs her patterns on a computer, beginning with the "Flower of Life" pattern. She stated that she combines natural structures with human structures in her work.

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Transcript (1 segments)

Diana Scherer0:00

Hello, I'm Diana Scherer. I originally come from Germany, and I've been living in Amsterdam for a very long time. I made a work, or several works, for a Frankfurt art association, and mainly this one: it's a root work. Actually, it's a large mat where I guided the roots underground. I also collaborate a lot with scientists, and occasionally with designers, to develop this work. For example, I worked with a university in Nijmegen in the Netherlands that specializes in plant roots underground. So I use this incredible power of root growth. The root searches underground for water, anchorage, and plenty of space. Because of that, I developed templates. I place these templates in the soil, and the roots grow into them. I spent a year doing research because I absolutely wanted these plant roots to live. I hadn't imagined it; I think I examined about 500 different plants. Each plant has a completely different root system. For example, the daisy has a very strong yellow root, grass has a very fine, silky one, and fern, for instance, has a bit of a sheen, like hair color, which is necessary for this work because it's the best plant. I really tried many plants, but oats are a grass, and grass is very good for planting close together. Other plants would fight for space in the soil and wouldn't grow in my templates. These structures, these patterns, I actually design first on the computer. That's how it starts, and then there's a whole research process. The world is full of patterns; where do you begin? I started with the basic pattern, the Flower of Life, which seems to be the oldest pattern ever found. I thought, I'll start there, and then I'll continue. By now, I've been dealing with the geometric order of nature for a few years. It's really an ancient theory, very old, still used, and it has also proven itself in architecture. It's used for strong natural structures that you see everywhere. I use them and combine them with human structures, like you can see here. And then nature comes in, and what I find so funny in this space is that this chaos also comes back here, a fine randomness returns.