PLANT’S-EYE VIEWS OF TAIPEI

Abstract

The installation of “Plant’s-Eye Views of Taipei” is the result of an international workshop that took place in Taipei in summer 2018, organized as part of the 2018 Taipei Biennial. Under the direction of two participating artists, and with the help from ecologists and videographers, university students from the Asia-Pacific region each imagined themselves as a particular plant. Students began by examining the physiology of selected plants to better understand their characteristics and life histories, as well as their adaptive features and ecosystem behaviors. In viewing themselves as plants, students were able to see Taipei through a new lens as a place coproduced by the city’s urban flora and human communities. The installation including scaffolds, sketches, and films was exhibited at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum to explore different ways through which plants view the city, as well as notions of anthropomorphism, phytomorphism, and phototropism.

Keywords

Plant’s-Eye View / Anthropomorphism / Phytomorphism / Phototropism / Taipei

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2019 Higher Education Press