Botanical Biennale is a series of 6 posters made together with artist Uriel Orlow and installed in the gardens of Venice for the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia 2026 curated by the late Koyo Kouoh.
Botanical Biennale tells stories of global connection and migration. Some plants have grown in Italy or Europe for millennia; others arrived through early human movement before 1500 ce, or via colonial expansion and global trade thereafter. These gardens also serve as a living pharmacy and food store – many plants are edible, others medicinal. Beyond their human use, many plants play a vital ecological role: improving soil fertility, preventing erosion, and providing food and shelter for insects, birds, and other animals, some acting as pollinators.
Each screen-printed poster has two sides: the front links each plant to its place of origin around the world, while the back overprints the front with a detailed text describing its properties and recontextualising its names in five languages: English, Latin, Italian, Venetian, and its original name in its native language.
