Botanizing on the Asphalt

The title of this installation, Botanizing the Asphalt, is taken from the term used by Walter Benjamin in his writings to describe 19th century window-shopping in the Paris arcades. Created by Ellen Zweig, this installation combines images from the theater, the terrarium and the Paris arcades to produce a window display of artificial nature. In the process, the window presents a critique of nature as commodity, as something to be bought and sold, framed and packaged, staged and performed.

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