Mariëlle Videler - Plant Exchange

With a plant in a greenhouse I wander through the streets of a city. During a few days I am a tradesman who exchanges plants. I try to move as many plants as possible from one house to the other. I go from door to door and visit beautiful cultures in living rooms. As I look out for different plants I meet both rich and poor. I bring a 'stranger' in people's home.

In 2007 the project was realized for the first time in Amsterdam, that year lived 174 different nationalities in this former trade city. The next year the project was part of the Biennale in Sinop, a city situated on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of the Black Sea. And in December last year I stayed on the island Curaçao, a the former Dutch colony. There I wandered, with the greenhouse, through the streets of Willemstad.

The greenhouse is inspired on a Wardian Case: a portable propagation container that was invented in 1829 to protect plants from the salty water during the transport on ships to Europe. The bars, which at each side pierce through the greenhouse, refer to a reliquary: a container that is used to transport a relic outside of a church.

During my travel I document as les as possible, I want to leave almost no trace and focus on the moment of the meeting. The moving of the plants is marked on a map by using color codes. And I make an inventory of the plant at its original home by using a form, with categories like scientists use to classify nature. This mixture of personal and scientific information travels with the plant to its new house.


	work / news / text / credits / PLab / contact Plant Exchange 2007 / Ongoing *	With a plant in a greenhouse I wander through the streets of a city. During a few days I am a tradesman who exchanges plants. I try to move as many plants as possible from one house to the other. I go from door to door and visit beautiful cultures in living rooms. As I look out for different plants I meet both rich and poor. I bring a 'stranger' in people's home. In 2007 the project was realized for the first time in Amsterdam, that year lived 174 different nationalities in this former trade city. The next year the project was part of the Biennale in Sinop, a city situated on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of the Black Sea. And in December last year I stayed on the island Curaçao, a the former Dutch colony. There I wandered, with the greenhouse, through the streets of Willemstad. The greenhouse is inspired on a Wardian Case: a portable propagation container that was invented in 1829 to protect plants from the salty water during the transport on ships to Europe. The bars, which at each side pierce through the greenhouse, refer to a reliquary: a container that is used to transport a relic outside of a church. During my travel I document as les as possible, I want to leave almost no trace and focus on the moment of the meeting. The moving of the plants is marked on a map by using color codes. And I make an inventory of the plant at its original home by using a form, with categories like scientists use to classify nature. This mixture of personal and scientific information travels with the plant to its new house.
	Plant Exchange/ Willemstad, Curaçao 2010 Artist-in-residence at Instituto Buena Bista Support: Fonds BKVB Plant Exchange/ Sinop, Turkey 2008 Exhibition: Sinopale 2 Support: The European Cultural Foundation: ECF Plant Exchange/ Amsterdam, 2007 Exhibition: Conlang presented by Performance Lab





^	Polaroids Plant Exchange/ Sinop and Amsterdam, 2008 / 2009 (selection in slideshow)