World Food Books

The Botanical Mind - Art, Mysticism And The Cosmic Tree

2021, English
Softcover, 232 pages, 16 x 23 cm
Published by Camden Art Centre / UK

$98.00 - Out of stock

Humanity’s place in the natural order is under scrutiny as never before, held in a precarious balance between visible and invisible forces: from the microscopic threat of a virus to the monumental power of climate change.

Drawing on indigenous traditions from the Amazon rainforest; alternative perspectives on Western scientific rationalism; and new thinking around plant intelligence, philosophy and cultural theory, The Botanical Mind investigates the significance of the plant kingdom to human life, consciousness and spirituality across cultures and through time. The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and The Cosmic Tree was conceived as a trans-generational group exhibition by Gina Buenfeld and Matt Williams for the Camden Art Centre, bringing together surrealist, modernist, visionary, outsider, indigenous Amazonian, and contemporary works alongside historical and ethnographic artefacts, textiles and manuscripts spanning more than 500 years. Through the symbolism of diverse cultural artefacts and the works of mystics, artists and thinkers around the world, 'The Botanical Mind' reveals how the vegetal kingdom has metaphysical importance to the development of consciousness and spirituality.

This richly illustrated 224-page companion publication includes essays by the curators and contributions from scholars on the key themes of the exhibition – alchemy, art history, plant ontology, Gaian ecology, anthropology and ethnobotany – unifying philosophical, scientific, spiritual and artistic approaches to meditate on the cosmic significance of plants in different worldviews.

Edited by Gina Buenfeld and Martin Clark
Designed by Sara De Bondt studio.

Artists and Writers
Eileen Agar / Anni Albers / Josef Albers / Sarah Angliss / Consuelo "Chelo" González Amézcua / Gemma Anderson with Wakefield Lab and John Dupré / Anna Atkins / Kirk Barley / Jordan Belson / Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater / Karl Blossfeldt / Carol Bove / Jagadish Chandra Bose / Kerstin Brätsch / Bernd Brabec De Mori / Hildegarde von Bingen / Andrea Büttner / Adam Chodzko / Ithell Colquhoun / Bruce Conner / Brenda Danilowitz / Das Institut / Mirtha Dermisache / Minnie Evans / Cerith Wyn Evans / Charles Filiger / Robert Fludd / Monica Gagliano / Giorgio Griffa / Brion Gysin / Friedrich Wilhelm Heine / Ernst Haeckel / Dr Stephan Harding / Anna Haskel / Tamara Henderson / Channa Horwitz / Textiles from the Huni Kuin (Kaxinawa) people / C.G. Jung / Joachim Koester / Rachid Koraïchi / Hilma af Klint / Emma Kunz / Yves Laloy / Ghislaine Leung / Linder / Simon Ling / Michael Marder / Agnes Martin / André Masson / John McCracken / Terence McKenna / Henri Michaux / Matt Mullican / Wolfgang Paalen / Paul Păun / Stefan A. Pedersen / Santiago Ramón y Cajal / Steve Reinke and James Richards / Edith Rimmington / Adele Röder / Daniel Rios Rodriguez / Rupert Sheldrake / Textiles and ceramics from the Shipibo-Conibo people / Penny Slinger / F. Percy Smith / Janet Sobel / Philip Taaffe / Priscilla Telmon and Vincent Moon / Fred Tomaselli / Delfina Muñoz de Toro / Alexander Tovborg / David Tudor / Lee Ufan / Scottie Wilson / Terry Winters / Adolf Wölfli / Bryan Wynter / Henriette Zéphir / Anna Zemánková / Unica Zürn / artists from the Yawanawá community

File under: Eileen Agar Anni Albers Josef Albers Karl Blossfeldt Carol Bove Das Institut Sarah Angliss Consuelo González Amezcua Anna Atkins Kirk Barley Jordan Belson Kerstin Brätsch Andrea Büttner Cerith Wyn Evans Adam Chodzko Ithell Colquhoun Bruce Conner Giorgio Griffa Brion Gysin Hilma af Klint Emma Kunz Henri Michaux Matt Mullican Wolfgang Paalen Penny Slinger Lee Ufan Terry Winters Adolf Wölfli Scottie Wilson Delfina Muñoz de Toro Alexander Tovborg Fred Tomaselli Priscilla Telmon and Vincent Moon Janet Sobel Philip Taaffe F. Percy Smith Joachim Koester Minnie Evans Mirtha Dermisache Ernst Haeckel Ghislaine Leung Linder Agnes Martin André Masson John McCracken Friedrich Wilhelm Heine Simon Ling Charles Filiger Anna Haskel Tamara Henderson Channa Horwitz Rachid Koraïchi Yves Laloy Adele Röder Daniel Rios Rodriguez Stefan A. Pedersen Edith Rimmington Steve Reinke James Richards Henriette Zéphir Anna Zemánková Sara De Bondt Bernd Brabec De Mori Gina Buenfeld Martin Clark Emanuele Coccia Stephan Harding C. G. Jung Terence McKenna Charles Webster Leadbeater Annie Besant Jagadish Chandra Bose Hildegarde von Bingen Brenda Danilowitz Michael Marder Robert Fludd Monica Gagliano Rupert Sheldrake Paul Păun Santiago Ramón y Cajal Camden Art Centre / UK Art Theory / Essay Group Shows / Collections Surrealism Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Painting Sculpture / Installation Curatorial Photography Sound / Music Ecology / Earth

Memo Review 05 : 2021

2022, English
Softcover, 300 pages, 25 x 17.5 cm
Published by Monash Art Projects / Victoria

$25.00 - In stock -