Eva van der Zand

Eva with Botanical Milk Bar 

Glass, tubes, hermaphrodite maple tree of Amsterdam, 6 different plant milks (hemp(male)/hazelnut(monocoeis)/date(female)/agave(asexual)/oats(hermaphrodite)/banana(polygamous)),  2021

Eva lives in the neighborhood "Tutti Frutti Dorp" in Amsterdam Noord. This neighbourhood made her think how ironic it is how people relate to the cities they live in and how much the city became a joke. She has extreme allergies for the air she breathes resulting in hayfever, this inspired her to reflect on what is planted in her urban landscape. What are the (t)issues around the air we breathe? With this work she shows a journey of breath, allergies, (t)issues, science, gender, pollen and the language of botany. Can nature also exist beyond the gendered language that is given to them?  

 

Some scientists believe that over the last 100 years the urban landscape has been planted with a lot of male trees. An overdose of male pollen is flying in the air that can’t be captured by the female flowers. This is called “botanical sexism”: the absence of feminine/hermaphrodite trees. There are a lot of debates going on whether this is correct or not. The contrasting stories around botanical sexism that might create more allergies, inspired her to make an interactive installation where people can taste 6 different types of milk. She researched and visualized the 6 main ways how nature is reproducing. She serves plant milk of date (female), hemp (male), banana (polygamous), rice (hermaphrodite), hazelnut (monoecious), agave (asexual). By researching the sexual reproduction of plants, she learned many stories about how trees and plants can change their sex. She wants to open up the conversation about naming the botanical world, colonial botany and botanical fluidity. This body of work questions the role language played in naming nature. 

 

Cheers on Botanical Milk! 

 

How to interact with the landscapes of the future?

 

How to create an air we all want to breathe in?

How do we become inhabitants of the air?