Kitti Gosztola & Bence György Pálinkás

Wild Garden Utopia – Chapter 7

We invite you to participate in a new chapter of the long-term botanical sci-fi project Wild Garden Utopia, created by the Hungarian artistic duo Kitti Gosztola and Bence György Pálinkás.

In this workshop-based project, we imagine what drastic changes can force humans to live in harmony within an ecosystem. A wishful thinking: what can be the best-case scenario after the inevitable collapse of Europe’s ecosystem? The Wild Garden Utopia takes place in the future when a new ecosystem emerges from the ruins of the old. In this first era of ecological succession, the pioneer species Japanese knotweed is forming a vast monoculture covering Europe. The plant is the primary resource for the few remaining humans to survive until a more diverse equilibrium will form, maybe in a million years. Until then, they need to find peace with the plant and use it as food, to build, and to play.

The Japanese knotweed in 2024 was considered an invasive alien species. Enabled by the xenophobic narrative of the media, many people fear it will take over the continent. 

The artistic duo saw this baseless accusation as an opportunity for a thought experiment, which turned into a now seven-year-old experiment: what can be done from one plant? In this new chapter, the artists set stricter rules for themselves and used – besides all parts of the plant – just the fat and guts of animals that might survive this utopia, water, and as tolls, just stones we gathered.

Before the exhibition opens, the last workshop from the series will take place at 5:00 p.m. EMPATHY WITH THE PLANT will be about connecting with the Japanese knotweed through our senses. We will taste, smell, touch it, and practice radical empathy together.

KITTY GOSZTOLA and BENCE GYÖRGY PÁLINKÁS (HU) form an artistic duo that has been collaborating since 2016 on projects focused on the recognition and representation of so-called invasive alien species. Their workshops, installations, videos, and audio works tell stories about green xenophobia, eco-patriotism, different notions of usefulness, and ways of coexistence.

The exhibitions of this gallery and the residency programme is supported using public funding by the Slovak Arts Council.

The Slovak Arts Council is the main partner of the project.

Residency of Bence György Pálinkás was supported by the International Visegrad Fund.