08 november 2024, Flor Linckens
The intelligence of plants: Diana Scherer's innovative root structures
Until 18 January, andriesse eyck galerie in Amsterdam is showcasing an exhibition by Diana Scherer, a pioneer in biotech art. Her work is a unique blend of botany, material research, textiles and sculpture, and is essentially a poetic exploration of the relationship between humans and nature — and the human desire to control the natural world. The balance between control and letting go plays a crucial role in her practice.
Scherer is renowned for her innovative manipulation of intelligent root networks. In her studio, she creates artificial biotopes where roots are guided underground using templates. The delicate root structures that emerge from this process contain both natural patterns and human-designed motifs. By directing the growth of roots with light, soil and seeds, Scherer creates complex, textile-like structures that she uses for sculptures, installations, textile works and photography. The resulting works highlight the plant’s inherent dynamism and demonstrates how nature often finds its own unpredictable path, despite human intervention.
What sets Scherer’s work apart is her meticulous research process and her (previous) close collaborations with scientists and biologists from institutions such as TU Delft and Radboud University. Her multidisciplinary approach, characterised by elements of science, nature, art, and design, enables her to render the hidden world of roots visible. This has resulted in groundbreaking techniques through which she transforms roots into grown textiles. Scherer analyses these roots at a microscopic level and she experimented with hundreds of plant species before selecting her favourites: oats, grass, wheat and maize. She likened the structure of grass roots to silk and compared the root system of daisies to wool. The artist is also fascinated by the artisanal nature of textiles and draws inspiration from traditional weaving techniques used by communities that are deeply connected to nature. Sustainability and idealism play a central role in her work.
Scherer’s practice reflects a deep fascination with what neurobiologists regard as the ‘intelligence center’ or the brain of plants. She explores ways to guide these natural growth processes, for instance by studying xylem vessels, the tissue responsible for water transport within plants. During the Biennale of Sydney, Scherer expressed her approach as follows: “A root navigates, knows what is up and down, perceives gravity and can locate moisture and chemicals. Roots are incredibly strong. In their search for food and space they fight for every space they can find. I use this strength to create my work. I expose the subterranean life and natural network turns into a textile-like material. The dynamism of the plant makes it seem as if the work is making itself.” Scherer’s work embodies the human urge to control nature, while simultaneously raising questions about the ethical and ecological implications (and limits) of that control.
Diana Scherer was born in 1971 in Lauingen, Bavaria (Germany) but has lived in the Netherlands for over 25 years. She initially studied fashion design in London but continued her studies at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. She has won several awards, including the prestigious New Material Award (Fellow) from Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. Scherer’s work has been exhibited at the Frankfurter Kunstverein, the TextielMuseum, Foam Amsterdam, Manifesta, Museum Kranenburgh, the MIT Museum in Boston, the Himalayas Museum in Shanghai, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, and at the Biennale of Sydney. Currently, her work is on view at Manifesta 15 in Metropolitana Barcelona (until 24 November), the exhibition 'The Call of the O’o. Nature under Pressure' at the Allard Pierson Museum (until 26 January), and 'The New Mother Sculptures' at the Cobra Museum (until 2 March). In 2025, her work will also be showcased at Somerset House and the Design Museum in London.
