Science/Fiction: A Non-History of Plants
Maison Européenne de la Photographie/Victoria Aresheva/Clothilde Morette

From scientific discoveries to animist beliefs, from dread linked to genetic mutations to political narratives, from repulsion to fascination—plants are an inexhaustible source of stories that reveal our most intimate desires and fears. The book questions human projections and representations of the vegetal world, bringing to light the subjectivity, intelligence, and expressive abilities of plants. Lens-based images are primary witnesses to this. The publication traces a visual history of plants, linking art, technology, and science from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, not chronologically, but through two conceptual frameworks: scientific and fictional. Bringing together more than thirty artists across different periods of time and parts of the world, it employs the logic of the science-fiction novel, taking us from a stable, identifiable world and gradually plunging us into uncertain landscapes.