Constellational Diasporas

This body of work investigates how botany became integral to the commercial and territorial expansion of Europe beginning in the 18th century. The journey of Persian Hogweed is traced from Iran to Buckingham Palace, where it was valued as an ornamental plant, and later to Canada and the U.S. after the Second World War. Once a tool in international botanical diplomacy, the Persian Hogweed was coveted until it ceased to serve its purpose in political and economic exchanges.

The sculptural installation retells the plant’s journey across the Atlantic Ocean, offering a perspective that reclaims its significance as a cherished plant. A large quantity of Persian Hogweed seeds was brought to Canada by the artist’s mother during her visit. In the installation, a single seed is suspended in resin within a small sphere of hand-blown glass. These roughly 700 spheres, in varying shades of blue, evoke the fluidity of aquatic forms, floating like clusters of cells. Scattered and in constant motion, they occupy a liminal space of kinship, simultaneously separate yet united. This gift from mother to daughter transforms into a poetic expression of longing and the safeguarding of cultural memory.

 

Troubled Garden: Study for Migratory Roots >>