A Moth in the RoomA Moth in the Room

This project examines the politics of plants, focusing on the distinctions between "native" and "non-native" species and challenging colonial gardening practices. Amid climate collapse and biodiversity loss due to anthropocentric disruption, it emphasizes the urgency for adaptation. Focusing on urban green spaces and plant control frameworks, it advocates for a new urban gardening method called "trans-planting." This method promotes non-intentional, non-authoritative, and non-extractive gardening, encouraging plant movement to bridge urban nature gaps through intentional human activities and objects. By mimicking natural seed dispersal and promoting collaborative trans-planting, it supports the Zoöp model of human-non-human cooperation. Critiquing invasive gardening techniques and political frameworks, the project rejects static notions of nature and binary classification of plants as "good" or "bad." It addresses the lack of knowledge and responsibility in traditional landscaping practices, encouraging respect for nature, minimal disruption, and the enhancement of non-human species through thoughtful, inclusive green space practices.

Anna Maria Zuech is a multidisciplinary designer and researcher originally from Merano, IT and currently based in Rotterdam, NL. She holds a bachelor's degree in Design from the Free University of Bolzano. Anna Maria's work encompasses a wide range of scales and disciplines, including product, spatial, and exhibition design. Her research delves into the politics of ecology and landscaping practices, with a particular focus on interspecies relationships. Through a material-led approach, she aims to highlight voices of both human and non-human entities in her design research.