Travelling Plants

The residency brought together five artists Karolina Grzywnowicz, Wendy Therméa, Danushka Marasinghe, Waylon D’Souza and Rashmimala who explored the IFP Herbarium, and were presented with a diverse programme of workshops, field trips, a series of lectures and presentations from experts, and the opportunity to interact with in-house researchers, scientists and technicians connected with Social Sciences, Ecology, Indology and Geomatics.

The concept of travelling plants can be traced back several millennia, right from the continental drift, to migration of early humans, the medieval European conquests, and the creolisation of cultures and reconfiguration of biodiversity in the aftermath of colonialism. Additionally, climatic changes across time, connected with cosmic, geological and other upheavals have seen the extinction, transformation and survival of varied species.

In the exhibition phase, Lina synthesised these diverse findings into a cohesive narrative that positioned the plant world as a historical and political protagonist. She curated the transition from raw research to finished works, highlighting individual lenses—from colonial biodiversity shifts to modern climate vulnerability.

The exhibition travelled from Chennai to New Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Colombo & Hyderabad in 2025.