Things that Move, Things that Grow
August 21, 2008
The book includes essays on installations at a Saskatoon greenhouse, a UWO research facility, and Toronto’s Harbourfront, functioning as a record of these ephemeral installations. It is also a vector to other points, for the last pages of Gardens are full of references, sources and notes to further reading. These are prefaced by a map of Canada from 1546 based on Cartier’s first expedition overseas. Viewing it today, the map depicts a world drawn upside down.
The gardens themselves grew plants native to the Americas, like the “usual suspects” of corn, beans and squash. They also incorporated signs with text and photographs linking the social movements of these plants. However, in a garden, the profusion of plant growth soon overtakes information conveyed by signs.
For Benner, real communication comes not from text, but from the experience of the garden.
“There’s evidence that can only be understood if you understand the plants themselves, on their own history.”
Gardens of a Colonial Present launches on August 23 at 1pm. Location: Art Metropole, 788 King Street W., Toronto, ON.
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