Created by Israeli artist Erez Nevi Pana, Flora Fauna is an art installation said to be the first-ever plant-based circus.
Flora Fauna was commissioned by curators Tal Erez and Anat Safran, who wanted Pana to create work that embodied Jerusalem Design Week 2021’s theme of Runaway Circus.
Described as being a harmonic creation that connects viewers to an elevated consciousness and offers alternative dimensions to existential burdens, the garden is filled with various plants whose names relate to animal attributes such as Elephant ears, Moose horn, Bird’s nest fern, and Stork’s beak.
When placed all together, the plants form a symphony of colours, shapes and textures. To enhance the experience, sensors and motors are fitted onto the plants and choreographed as if they are dancing.
“The choice of a plant-based performance as an allegory of the potential for earthly paradise enriches our perspective – towards ourselves and fills us with empathy for these species that live amongst us,” explains Pana. “The garden, openly offering a seductive harmony and a mindful progression, invites the visitor to relate to the moral, the basic, and the authentic and leads us to dimension devoid of superiority, exploitation, imprisonment or de-humanization. Rather, it conditions escape through a performance of a harmonious space between the disparate.”
All images in this article are courtesy of Erez Nevi Pana.
