Phytographies: Post-industrial Life Stories of Plants. Exhibition 2023

In 2023, we formed a group consisting of staff and students from the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Silesia and the Faculty of Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Katowice who were interested in expanding their knowledge about the local environment and attempting to use it in creative activities in the fields of literature and art. We aimed to use this to explore local phenomena related to more-than-human relationships within post-industrial areas.

In our search for information and inspiration, we met with Prof. Adam Rostański and Dr. Izabela Gerold-Śmietańska, botanists researching, among other things, plants growing in post-industrial areas, as well as with Prof. Iwona Jelonek, who explained the geological conditions of these regions. We took several walks with Dr. Jerzy Parusel, long-time editor of the journal Nature of Upper Silesia, and Agata Zaskórska, a phytotherapist, who introduced us to local herbalism. We also collaborated with the artistic-herbalist workshop “Chwaściarnia,” run by Julia Krupa in the Autonomous Educational Space in Warsaw, who conducted workshops with us.

Phytographies, ASP Katowice, Open Hall

27.10 — 15.11.2023

Artists:

Klaudia Brzezińska • Angelika Czubasiewicz • Mateusz Drozdowski • Barbara Firla • Alicja Gaszta • Klaudia Kasprzyk • Kasja Kmiecik • Aleksandra Krysińska • Martyna Krzywicka • Małgorzata Rozenau • Anka Sielska • Michał Smandek • Joanna Soćko + Karolina Pawlik • Kinga Przeliorz • Oliwia Stępień • Paweł Szeibel • Dagmara Szmal • Mikołaj Szpaczyński • Malwina Szymocha • Agnieszka Urbanek • Michalina W. Klasik • Joanna Zdzienicka-Obałek

Curatorial team:

Joanna Soćko, Paweł Szeibel, Joanna Zdzienicka-Obałek

Organizers:

Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Katowice, University of Silesia in Katowice