The Centro de Arte y Naturaleza (CDAN) will close the exhibition Women Illustrate Botany with five workshops devoted to experimental photography, collage, fieldwork, and the relationship between flowers, insects, and the environment. The activities will take place between September 26 and October 25, before the exhibition ends on November 1.
CDAN expands exhibition on women in botanical illustration with five workshops
Women Illustrate Botany examines women’s authorship in botanical illustration from the 17th century to the present day. The exhibition brings together the work of 60 Spanish and international artists and more than 500 works, seeking to recover the contributions of women involved in observing, documenting, and disseminating knowledge about plants.
The exhibition explores a discipline that for centuries was reserved almost exclusively for men. Women’s contributions were constrained, rendered invisible, or consigned to anonymity, despite their role in shaping the scientific image of plants.
The workshops complement the exhibition with practical and theoretical approaches. Participating artists include Vicky Méndiz, Gema Rupérez, and Rakel Gómez Vázquez, whose work is featured in the exhibition, alongside artist Susana Vacas and biologist Lorena Escuer.
Plant photography, nature imagery, and collage from September through October
The program will begin on Saturday, September 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with Anthotype: Listening to Plants, a workshop led by photographer Vicky Méndiz. The session will explore camera-free image-making through anthotype, a 19th-century technique that uses the light sensitivity of plant juices to create unique images.
On October 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., artist Rakel Gómez Vázquez will lead Situated Botanical Reading: Problems of the Earth, Problems of the Image. The activity invites reflection on the influence of images on how people relate to nature.
The program will continue on October 11, from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., with a collage workshop led by Susana Vacas. The proposal draws on Re-composition, a literary-artistic object in book-collage format, to explore the exhibition’s content through practical and theoretical work.
Fieldwork and insects to complete the program
Artist Gema Rupérez will lead the workshop I Am Also an Invader on October 18, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.. The session will combine fieldwork, archival research, and drawing based on her work Invasive Species.
The series will conclude on October 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with Insects and Flowers Conquering the World, led by biologist Lorena Escuer. The theoretical-practical talk will examine the collaboration between flowers and insects in the environment over millions of years and will include a tour of the exhibition.
Those interested can register and reserve a place in the workshops through the CDAN website.
