Mónica de Miranda, When Words Escape, Flowers Speak, 2017. Cortesy of the Artist.
Mónica de Miranda, When Words Escape, Flowers Speak, 2017. Cortesy of the Artist.

Press release -

Ground Control – New Exhibition Opens at Bildmuseet

Bildmuseet presents Ground Control, an exhibition with works by contemporary artists interested in plants and their political dimensions. Welcome to press previews – digital and on-site – on Thursday 24 September.

Digital press preview at 10:00 via zoom. Opportunity for journalists to experience the new exhibition on site 13:00-16:00. RSVP to the events.

Viewing the history of humans through the prism of botany raises questions about power, the future and the role of humans in the living world. Trade, the building of empires, and globalisation have led to seeds and plants moving among continents and leaving traces in nature, language and knowledge. In many cases, the scientific mapping of species has taken place hand in hand with the West's hunt for new territories to conquer.

The exhibition Ground Control explores connections between plants, politics and history. It brings together works by contemporary artists who are interested in the political dimensions of botany: plants as a commodity, the circulation of plants around the world, and their classification.

Contributing artists: Maria Thereza Alves (b. 1961, Brazil, Gerd Aurell (b. 1965, Sweden), Hanan Benammar (b. 1989, Algeria/France), Céline Condorelli (b. 1974, France), Suzanne Husky (b. 1975, France), and Mónica de Miranda (b. 1976, Portugal). The exhibition is produced by Bildmuseet and curated by Clelia Coussonnet and Sofia Johansson.

Press previews of the exhibition are offered digitally and on location at Bildmuseet. 
RSVP by Monday 21/8 via email.


Thursday 24 September

10:00–11:00 Live-streamed press preview via Zoom. Participating are Director Katarina Pierre and curators Clelia Coussonnet and Sofia Johansson.

13:00–16:00 Press preview on location in Bildmuseet. Opportunity for journalists to experience the exhibition.

Sunday 27 September

14:00–15:00 Exhibition opening. Presentation of Ground Control by curators Clelia Coussonnet and Sofia Johansson. Gerd Aurell’s work Svenska växter [Swedish Plants] will be performed.

Press images: http://www.bildmuseet.umu.se/press-images

Further information
Sofia Johansson, Curator

sofia.johansson@umu.se, +46 90-786 93 53

Helena Vejbrink, Press contact

helena.vejbrink@bildmuseet.umu.se, +46 90-786 90 73

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Bildmuseet produces and exhibits contemporary international art and visual culture. Housed in an acclaimed building at the Umeå Arts Campus, right next to the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts, Umeå Institute of Design and Umeå School of Architecture, Bildmuseet is a part of Umeå University – one of Sweden's largest institutions of higher learning with over 32,000 students and 4,200 employees. It is a multifaced university, where studies and research within the creative realm make up an important part of the university's cornerstone.

Contacts

Helena Vejbrink

Helena Vejbrink

Communication officer Bildmuseet +46 90 786 9073

Umeå University

Umeå University is one of Sweden's largest universities with over 37,000 students and 4,300 employees. The university is home to a wide range of education programmes and world-class research in a number of fields. Umeå University was also where the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 was discovered – a revolution in gene-technology that was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Founded in 1965, Umeå University is characterised by tradition and stability as well as innovation and change. Education and research on a high international level contributes to new knowledge of global importance, inspired, among other things, by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The university houses creative and innovative people that take on societal challenges. Through long-term collaboration with organisations, trade and industry, and other universities, Umeå University continues to develop northern Sweden as a knowledge region.

The international atmosphere at the university and its unified campus encourages academic meetings, an exchange of ideas and interdisciplinary co-operation. The cohesive environment enables a strong sense of community and a dynamic and open culture in which students and staff rejoice in the success of others.

Campus Umeå and Umeå Arts Campus are only a stone's throw away from Umeå town centre and are situated next to one of Sweden's largest and most well-renowned university hospitals. The university also has campuses in the neighbouring towns Skellefteå and Örnsköldsvik.

At Umeå University, you will also find the highly-ranked Umeå Institute of Design, the environmentally certified Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics and the only architectural school with an artistic orientation – Umeå School of Architecture. The university also hosts a contemporary art museum Bildmuseet and Umeå's science centre – Curiosum. Umeå University is one of Sweden's five national sports universities and hosts an internationally recognised Arctic Research Centre.

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