After layers of space, metal, glass, and, most importantly, reflections, a sample of ornamental plants brought to Europe from the “New World” hides from the distracted gaze. The installation authored by Eva-Maria Lopez, “Phyto-Travellers,” seems to be floating in the middle of Kubus Subraum, a structure that connects to the main building of the Zentrum für Kunst und Medien in Karlsruhe. From outside, only the original names of the species are clearly visible. The reflection that surrounds the glass box overtakes the exhibition. The lush evergreen vegetation indoors seems to blend with the reflection of early fall foliage outside. While the daylight lasts, the eye has to step through the glass to be able to see what hides behind it: eerily familiar symbols of another world that nowadays are seen as local in the European context.

The exhibition is conceived to be visited mainly by looking in from the outside and is only accessible on selected dates. The two worlds, inside and outside, remain separated, meeting only by the eye piercing the in-between space. The separated plant life evokes the complex encounter of cultures and individuals: Often, what lies behind us gets mixed in with bits and pieces of what we can observe. Only when I look close enough can I discern what is before my eyes. As a migrant in a foreign land, I also stand on one side of the glass. It is only when I see through that I discover wonders, bits of color that remind me of home, and the different processes of transcontinental exchange.

The visitor’s perception in this exhibition is in constant transformation; as daylight fades and the shadows of the outside capture the reflections on the glass, the indoor garden is revealed to the eye, and the installation gains prominence. The light emanating from the inside breaks through and draws attention to the foreign specimen. Elements that were noticeable during the day disappear. The darkness draws out the green of the leaves and connects both sides of the looking glass.

ca.