We are not inhabitants of the Earth; we inhabit the atmosphere
— Emanuele Coccia

Over all the mountaintops
there is peace
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Before an idea, a word or a movement, there is the breath. It is with this gesture that we fill our lungs with the first fuel that propels us into action. With this energy snatched from the atmosphere, we activate the flow of our blood, the movement of our muscles and the echo of our voices. However, this act demands something in return; thus, with each breath, we offer the world a part of our inner self. We feed on the world, and the world feeds on us. It is in this agriculture of the wind that we savor this universe.

Before the arrival of the hierarchy of animals, plants were in charge of sculpting the face of the world, transforming photoelectric energy into biochemical energy, to make it available to all living beings. In this becoming of spirit in matter, plants have produced the flesh of the earth; the aromas, flavors, shapes and colors that invade our senses are the work and authorship of plants. Plants are the first landscapers of the world; and we are their creations, that is to say, we are objects of their gardening.

We find ourselves immersed in a vegetable atmosphere, whose domains extend from the depths of the earth to the summits of the world. Everything comes from plants; everything is earthly and atmospheric. The divine is now mundane, and it is in this world that life thinks everywhere and speaks everywhere.

The artists participating in this exhibition are the pollinators, messengers, objects and prophets of this plant atmosphere. It is through their works that we can direct our gaze to the universe of plants, recognizing that without them life on earth would be impossible. Our world is, in essence, a plant phenomenon rather than an animal phenomenon, and that is why in this exhibition we dedicate a space to immerse ourselves in the bodies of those who, with their breath, have given birth to this world.

— Cristian Toj, December 2023