Schools

From 1st February to 13 April 2025:
Exhibition I am an old phenomenon
by Ann Shelton

Maison de l’enfance et de l’adolescence (HUG)

Beliefs linked to the medicinal, magical and spiritual uses of plants were well established and implanted in the lives of forest-people, nomads and ancients in Europe and across the world. Knowledge of the curative and spiritual virtues of plants were often held by women. Following the arrival of Western Christianity and the rise of capitalism, these beliefs were pushed aside and regarded as pagan practices. As witness the numerous witch hunts that took place in Europe and on other continents.

In today’s context of environmental emergency and the many ecological impacts of capitalism, the consequences of the repression of these beliefs and knowledge are still very profound. Our contemporary relationship with plants is largely one of merchandising, and the knowledge of the past, which has been passed down from generation to generation, has gradually been replaced by an interest in the essentially aesthetic and decorative qualities of plants. The photographs in the I am an old phenomenon project are created by reassembling fragments of this ancient knowledge, which the artist has researched and rediscovered within an ecological and feminist approach. Ann Shelton makes still lifes of these plants, which she sometimes cultivates in her own garden, in a style close to Ikebana, Japanese floral art.

The photographs are a tribute to the beliefs and knowledge that have been largely lost, but also to the wise women, witches and herbalists who passed on these skills at the risk of persecution. The artist has carefully chosen the images for the exhibition according to the medicinal uses and benefits of each plant. The photographs are also arranged at different heights, according to the different body parts treated by the plants depicted.
This exhibition is not about opposing Western medicine with ancient herbal knowledge, but rather about questioning our relationship with the natural environment and the plants that surround us, as well as our beliefs and knowledge about them.

_{* a term generally used to refer to New Zealanders of Anglo-Saxon or European origin.}

THEMES AND DISCIPLINES

Questions addressed during the visit include, depending on the age of the pupils:

• Plants and their applications: how can certain plants cure us? Can you eat flowers? What do a witches’ broom, an upset stomach and cheese have in common? What were the plant-related beliefs in certain cultures?
• Botany and the repression of knowledge: what happened when witches were hunted and why? Where do certain plants come from and how were they introduced to Europe? What consequences did these migrations have?
• Relationship with plants: how do we relate to plants today? Do we really know the plants we have at home? Do we use them in the same way as they were used in the past?
• Photography and representation: how did the artist take photographs of plants? What formal choices did she make in her images, and why? What is a still life? How can we represent what cannot be seen in a photograph?

Depending on the age of the pupils, the subjects and themes covered during the visit include:

• Plants, healing, women healers
• History, botany, biology
• Photography, art, still life

Venue

Fondation Convergences
Maison de l’enfance et de l’adolescence des HUG
Boulevard de la Cluse 26
1205 Genève

Dates

1st February to 13th April 2025

Hours

Visits with the facilitator by reservation only from Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 18:00. Tours without a facilitator are also possible, preferably by prior arrangement, when the Maison de l’enfance et de l’adolescence is open to the public (Monday to Friday, 9h-20h).

Age

all school degrees from 8 years old (5P)

Duration of the visit

30 minutes

Languages

French or English

Price

free for classes

Reservation

via the online form

Further information

by email at visites@centrephotogeneve.ch or by phone at 022 329 28 35

Preparatory visit

Admission is free for teachers wishing to prepare a visit with their class. The preparatory visit is possible during the public opening of the Maison de l’enfance et de l’adolescence, from Monday to Friday, 9h-20h.

FURTHER INFORMATION