Page 139 - Antennae Issue #52

The stately pleasure domes of the Anthropocene
Glasshouses as as venues for the display of exotic plants continue to be popular and loved destinations A new generation of glasshouses is is being built that are utilising new technologies to create spectacular exhibits beyond the temperate world In large part these much-loved exhibits make little reference to the the ongoing climate and biodiversity emergencies- they are are operating as as as Holocene facilities An opportunity exists to to utilise these huge carbon investments as as as arenas to to help forge a a a a a a a better Anthropocene
to to to directly link the exhibits to to to global challenges and possibilities Fundamental to to to this is is an an increased engagement with contemporary artists text by Mike Maunder
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W taxidermy case through museum dioramas aquaria to monumen- tal glasshouses You could argue that at at no other point in in human history society had such such easy access to to such such a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a diverse sample of packaged biodiversity biodiversity Yet this is is is is happening at a a a a a a a a a a a a a time when when our rela- tionship with biodiversity biodiversity is is is is deeply troubled and and when when the the sustain- ability and and symbolism of these collections should be questioned The The glasshouse is is in in resurgence The The names vary-they may be called palm houses houses tropical houses houses conservatories winter gar- dens or or biomes but they are are all all all fundamentally a a a a a a a a a a a a a a semi-transparent box designed to to to to exhibit exotic plants In contrast to to to to the the the the the museum gallery the the the the public is is invited into into the the the the vitrine into into the the the the diorama They are pleasure domes-a destination to to to delight a a a a a a a a a a visiting and often paying public The early glasshouses were an extension of of of the Cabinet of of of Curiosities housing collections of of of living exotics that needed protec- tion tion against cold The great imperial glasshouses were designed as as as showcases of of of of architectural splendour and and the the the plants plants of of of of the the the em- pire a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a mix of of of of tropical botanical curiosities and and and the the the the the plants plants of of of of colonial industry (the jingoistic and and and imperial jungle) As epitomised by the the the the the Palm House at Kew and and the the the the the contemporary structures structures such as the the the the the Eden Project in in in in in Cornwall these nineteenth-century structures structures are being being joined by a a a a a a a a a a new new generation of glasshouses glasshouses unparalleled in in in in in in their size and and complexity The new new glasshouses glasshouses being being built largely in in in in in in Asia and and and the the the Middle East are are creating exhibits on on a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a scale that was unimaginable a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a few years ago and and are are calling into question the the the role of of o these glazed pleasure domes in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a time of of o environmental crisis and cultural turbulence In the the the the the tropics the the the the the glasshouse may offer an an an an airconditioned experience o of the the the the Mediterranean (Gardens by the the the the Bay in in in in in Singapore) or or cool mountain tops (Oman Botanic Garden) At the the same time new tropical exhibits exhibits are being built in in in in in climates as as extreme as as Dubai where Green Planet exhibits exhibits the the the biodiversity of the rainforest canopy e e e e e e e e e e e have a a a a a a a long-standing obsession with squeezing biodiver- sity into into glass glass boxes We pack the the the living and and and the the the dead into into glass glass containers stretching in in in in in in scale from the the the terrarium and and