PostNatural Botany

at the heart of life

PostNatural Botany is an ongoing project, conducted in collaboration with Swiss artist Cedric Bregnard. At the intersection of art and science, it aims to create a photographic series using medical imaging, focused on the postnatural world of plants. Each photograph tells a story where humans and life forms are intimately connected, showcasing the desires that drive these interactions.

The image creation process is an original recipe developed by the artist over 10 years ago. Plant material is placed in a medical scanner, one of the cutting-edge tools of human technology, before undergoing a particular photographic treatment. It is an unprecedented combination of specialized softwares that produces images of stunning resolution with otherworldly appearances.

Cocoa, medical imaging
Photo credit: Cédric Bregnard

Cocoa

Cocoa was domesticated in the Upper Amazon 5,300 years ago by a pre-Columbian civilization that was unknown until recently.

Photo series

Like cocoa, there is a quantity and diversity of specimens that have been shaped by humans for thousands of years through processes such as domestication, selective breeding, or genetic engineering. The series will consist of a dozen photographs, including fruits, seeds, flowers, and other surprises. Several photos have already been produced, including:

Transgenic purple tomato
World's hottest pepper
Hydroponically grown saffron
Coffee plant

The production of images is ongoing and spans from 2023 to 2024. The photographic series will then be exhibited in French-speaking Switzerland. Your support is invaluable to the success of this project, so feel free to contribute if you wish.

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Collaboration

The Museum of PostNatural History has partnered with photographer Cedric Bregnard. This collaboration builds on a previous success realized for the Artificial exhibition (2022-2023). In this context, Gil Oliveira and Cedric Bregnard developed a postnatural version of the Roots from the Sky project, which aims to organize and guide the creation of collective ink drawings by hundreds of participants of all ages.

Two monumental frescoes were produced: one representing a chestnut forest with a transgenic American chestnut tree at its center; the other depicting a well-aligned orchard of organic apple trees.