Spontaneous Archives: Rubus armeniacus and the Mnemonic Agency of Feral Urban Vegetation
Doctoral research conducted between the art school HEAD-Genève and the polytechnic university EPFL in Lausanne with research directors Florence Graezer-Bideau and Marianne Guarino-Huet.
This project explores spontaneous urban vegetation as a living archive of human and non-human memories neglected by institutional narratives. Taking Rubus armeniacus (Armenian bramble / Himalayan Blackberry), a ubiquitous plant considered invasive in cities such as Zurich and Geneva, as its starting point, the research examines the trajectories of circulation, culture and migration inscribed in its urban presence.
Through an artistic research approach combining fieldwork (tracing the plant’s journey from Armenia to Hamburg, where it was first introduced to Europe, and then to Switzerland) and material experiments, the research develops the concept of ‘spontaneous archives’: forms of memory embodied by living organisms, revealing stories that are absent or incomplete in institutional archives, whilst echoing questions of heritage, transmission and family memory.
Positioning art history and artistic practices as the primary methods of inquiry, the research is supported by scientific, historical, vernacular, and theoretical sources.
Duration: 2024 - 2029