Theatrum Botanicum is Uriel Orlow’s ongoing research project that looks at the botanical world as a stage for politics through film, photography, installation and sound. Working between South Africa and Europe, it considers plants as historical witnesses and dynamic agents connecting nature and humans across geographies, histories and knowledge systems.
The publication comprises two intertwined books, each printed on its own paper and exploring parallel lines of inquiry. One documents the artworks (including film scripts); the other offers essays covering postcolonial studies, art history, botany, critical law and race studies, providing context for the complex issues they raise. The layout and typefaces draw from 16th- and 17th-century botanical manuals and codices.
