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BERLIN — Welto and the Sacred Bush reimagines the upstairs gallery of the Spore Initiative’s Berlin headquarters as a dazzling Caribbean garden that defies conventional representation. This exhibition does not mimic a literal garden but instead highlights contemporary artworks that reflect the nurturing essence and philosophy of such cultivated spaces. Guests are invited to traverse through mixed-media installations and interactive pieces rooted in Indigenous and diasporic narratives that explore ancestral memory and collective futures. The experience begins in the first gallery with “Permactivie” (2025), a short film introducing viewers to the Martinique-based association committed to food cultivation as a method of mutual aid. This youth-led organization cultivates resilience in the face of environmental challenges through permaculture principles, emphasizing care for each other and the Earth.
Within this vibrant ecosystem, works like Annalee Davis’s seed and botanical repository titled “A Recuperative Gesture” (2025) emerge, featuring pressed specimens from Martinique's northwest coast, including blue pea, West Indian sage, and sea island cotton. This herbarium not only captivates with its beauty but also carries profound historical significance. The flora found in Martinique has been profoundly influenced by colonial history, particularly during the plantation economy era, which obliterated indigenous plant life to pave the way for cash crops such as sugarcane.
“Permactivie” (2025), film still
Under the shadow of colonialism, botany has often served as a tool for imperial dominance, disrupting biodiversity and Afro-Indigenous lifeways. In response, “San Nou,” an eco-installation by Aurélie Derard and Mawongany with Mycelionaires, acts as a gesture of healing. This installation features an illuminated cabinet filled with jars, petri dishes, and clusters of organic materials, resembling a shrine. Working within this greenhouse-laboratory concept, mycelium activates, emphasizing the interconnectedness of our ecosystems. Mycelium, beginning as spores that connect into a vast network under favorable conditions, symbolizes decentralization, grassroots movements, solidarity, and mutual aid. Reflective of its name’s idiomatic resonance in Martinican Creole, “San Nou” implies ownership or stewardship, as it also references the African diasporic ritual of bain démarré, herbal baths intended for cleansing and renewal. Both concepts embody the potential for regeneration and the restoration of life.
At the gallery's heart, where Afro-Indigenous philosophies, ancestral plant wisdom, and communal engagement converge, visitors are greeted by a wall drawing alongside a chalkboard-covered floor for personal reflections. Isambert Duriveau’s “Fidji Pawol” (2025) portrays the communal values of Lasotè, a collaborative agricultural practice that fosters love, family bonds, audacity, and humility. Engage in this communal space by writing or drawing personal reflections on the floor, inviting visitors to consider: “Who are the guardians in your own ecosystem? Who protects, listens, heals where you live?” Significantly, many guests noted their support for the people of Gaza, connecting to Spore’s concurrent exhibition Unsettled Earth, which addresses Palestinian narratives of resilience.
Installation view of “San Nou” by Aurélie Derard and Mawongany with Mycelionaires
As visitors explore the exhibit, they find themselves drawn to a textile piece by Annalee Davis, titled “Be Soft” (2023–24). Embroidered with intricate plant motifs, this work invites contemplation on gentleness and resilience. The exhibition progresses by fostering thoughtful dialogues and reflections centered around “lower frequencies,” poetic expressions and practices grounded in tranquility and softness, countering the extractive pressures experienced by both the land and its inhabitants. Wall texts are intentionally positioned low, encouraging visitors to crouch, a physical reminder of the humility and dedication involved in gardening.
Born out of a collaboration between the Spore Initiative and Permactivie, Welto and the Sacred Bush features an array of artists, including Guy Gabon, Florence Lazar, and Françoise Dô, along with contributions from Martinique's elementary school children. This exhibition amplifies the voices of plants and the wisdom they offer toward a liberated future, urging us to nurture the Earth and each other with care and intention.
Annalee Davis, “Be Soft” (2023–24)Installation view of Isambert Duriveau, “Fidji Pawol” (2025) in Welto and the Sacred Bush
Welto and the Sacred Bush continues at Spore House (Hermannstraße 86, Berlin, Germany) through March 29, 2026. The exhibition has been curated by Antonia Alampi and Francesca Schweiger.
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