participatory tree of scanned hands by JR grows in montpellier's former church
Briefly

Adventice is a participatory art installation by JR at Montpellier's Carré Sainte-Anne, featuring 10,000 scanned hands assembled into a tree. This artwork symbolizes rootedness, migration, and collective identity. The term 'adventice', typically used for plants appearing unintentionally, is reclaimed to emphasize essential presences in nature and communities. As visitors can scan and add their hands, the installation evolves, capturing individual stories within a larger narrative. Additionally, the artwork connects historical migration of foreign seeds to ecological biodiversity, enhancing the theme of cultural exchange and community.
The Adventice project at Carré Sainte-Anne consists of 10,000 scanned hands from around the world, creating a living tree installation symbolizing rootedness, migration, and collective identity.
In botanical terms, 'adventice' refers to unintended plants that prove essential in nature. This exhibition reclaims the term to highlight important yet uninvited presences in communities.
The hands in the artwork represent individual stories, collectively forming a structure that evolves as visitors are invited to contribute new scanned hands during the exhibition.
JR draws on the historical context of foreign seeds arriving during the medieval textile trade, illustrating how these plants, although not native, transformed Montpellier's biodiversity.
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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