Science/Fiction – A Non-History of Plants

What if plants were more intelligent than we think? What if they observe, communicate—perhaps even dream?
A flower—both organic and digital—appears as a hybrid entity. Its technologically shimmering surface oscillates between nature and the artificial, blurring the boundaries between the two. The Book of Flowersby Agnieszka Polska (2023) opens up a new perspective on the relationship between humans, nature, and technology—not as pure fantasy, but as a creative force and a vision of symbiotic coexistence. In a similar spirit, this group exhibition explores the threshold between science, art, and speculative imagination.

FOTO ARSENAL WIEN presents Science/Fiction – A Non-History of Plants: an in-depth exploration of the history of plants in photography and lens-based media, connecting art, technology, and science from the 19th century to the present. Rather than following a linear chronology, the exhibition is structured around two focal points: science and fiction.

Divided into six chapters, the exhibition follows the structure of a science fiction novel: it begins with the concept of a stable, recognizable world and gradually unveils uncertain, unexpected realities. The historic and contemporary works presented transcend the conventional boundaries between fiction and reality, science and art. They break free from rigid categories to capture the complexity of plant life and its profound connections to humanity. Science/Fiction – A Non-History of Plants invites you to explore the plant world through various media—from static to moving images—as well as to learn about the photographic and film techniques behind them, which were initially used for botanical research.

Examples from both science and science fiction reveal new imaginary worlds—perspectives shaped not only by progress and modernity, but also by an engagement with the limitations of our planet. The human point of view is fundamentally questioned, and, at times, entirely abandoned: what unfolds are emancipatory tales that give plants both a place and a voice.

Artists: Laure Albin Guillot, Anna Atkins, Karl Blossfeldt, Henry Bradbury, Stan Brakhage, Jean Comandon, Gohar Dashti, Agnes Denes, Rebekka Deubner, Elspeth Diederix, Kalev Erickson, Constantin Freiherr von Ettingshausen, Éléonore False, Joan Fontcuberta, Olga Grotova, Ali Kazma, Samir Laghouati-Rashwan, Jochen Lempert, Angelika Loderer, Angelica Mesiti, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Alice Pallot, ThePsycholudicResearchGroup (Margarete Jahrmann, Thomas Wagensommerer), Agnieszka Polska, Max Reichmann, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Almudena Romero, Philippe Roux, Miljohn Ruperto & Ulrik Heltoft, Steve Sekeley & Freddie Francis, Timur Si-Qin, William Henry Fox Talbot, Richard Tepe, Anaïs Tondeur, Edward Weston