Open Lab: Plant / Lives
Eva Sajovic & Corinne Silva
25th March to 12th April 2017

Darat al Funun Lab, Amman, Jordan


We are creating a map of Darat al Funun’s garden. The garden has plants that date back to Roman times – some are local, and some are also global. When the first houses here were built in the 1920s, an officer of the British Army brought Eucalyptus from his native Australia. The khoshkhash in front of Dar Khalid was a gift from the Palestinian city of Haifa. Radishes on the roof of the Headquarters were planted by Egyptian gardener Rida, as they connect him to home.

The garden creates a micro-ecosystem: white mulberries fall to the ground and are eaten by insects, in turn migratory birds feed on these grubs, and local cats take advantage of the birds. As well as containing narratives of human and plant mobility, of global empire and individual journeys, the garden can also be used to foretell the future of the plant world. How will the edible plants in the garden adapt to the escalating water crisis and climate changes that are already affecting the region?


During two research trips to Jordan, through workshops, conversations, and garden walks with local people, we collected botanical information and personal stories on some of the garden’s edible plants. We have also gathered insights on staple Jordanian crops from farmers involved in large-scale agriculture, as well as smaller permaculture projects, and scientists whose work explores the impact of rising temperatures and lessening precipitation.


Our map will contain all these layers of information, considering the present state of the edible plants, reaching back into the colonial history when Darat’s garden was first established, and forwards into the future, to consider challenges that might be faced as a result of the climate crisis, including human and plant displacement.


Here in the Lab, we present our research so far. We intend for the works shown here, and our final map, to act as a starting point for further conversation, knowledge sharing, and solidarity, in relation to issues that concern us all locally and globally.



We would like to thank the workshop participants Colin Alcock, Shorouq Aljabari, Dina Amr, Shereen Dabbas, Dana Damjanovic, Dina Daradkeh, Giorgia Garofalo, Mohamad Herzallah, Ruqaia Kanaan, Haneen Khader, Azia Lafleur, Sara Mahasneh, Suzanne Saoub, Zayd Mseis, Karina Rbeihat, Hala Shouha, and Rand Taiseer. Thanks also to Shane Waltener, the numerous farmers we met, and to Rana Beiruti, Rida Altabakh, Abu Amer Alasaiereh,Maha Fadil,Issa Halabi, Alaa Jaber, Reem Marji, Mundher Shamayleh, Mohammad Shaqdih, Eline van der Vlist, Ali Yass, Amer Alasaiereh, Stijn T’Kindt at Darat al Funun.


Our work on the future adaptation of plants to climate change has been based on research prepared for us by William Nelson.

Open Lab: Plant / Lives, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Installation View, 2017

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Open Lab: Plant / Lives, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Installation View, 2017

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Open Lab: Plant / Lives, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Installation View, 2017

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Open Lab: Plant / Lives, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Installation View, 2017

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Open Lab: Plant / Lives, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Installation View, 2017

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Open Lab: Plant / Lives, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Installation View, 2017

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Open Lab: Plant / Lives, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Installation View, 2017

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Open Lab: Plant / Lives, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Installation View, 2017

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A walk through the exhibition


The space opens with a photograph of Mr Lancner, who Eva Sajovic met and photographed in his plant nursery on the Slovenian/Italian border. Looking away from us and towards the plants, he begins our global conversation.


During our previous visit here, we collected plant cuttings from Darat’s garden, and to the left of Mr Lancner is a photogram of the pods we took from the White Leadtree (Leucaena leucocephala). This plant is promoted as a ‘miracle tree’ for its multiple uses, yet also known as a ‘conflict tree’ for its fast spreading, and domination of other species.


The photogram faces a grid of cyanotypes created by an internationally diverse group of workshop participants, who each researched and shared stories about different edible plants in the garden. Their material contributes to the development of the garden map we are constructing, part of which can be seen here.


On the map, and corresponding texts, we have colour-coded the garden’s plants according to the following categories: red represents fruits and vegetables, orange for citrus, green for trees and blue for shrubs. Narratives from people at the Darat are written in brown. Blue cards represent the scientific research we have gathered, and pink cards contain voices of the farmers we spoke to.


The photograph of the water taken was taken on the roof of a local building. Considering the water crisis here has been central to our research.


Through walks around the garden with a number of people, the khoshkhash, or bitter orange, emerged as a symbol of the place. A potent plant with many uses, the people we spoke to feel a deep connection to it. We took some of the oranges back to London. The one in the photograph presented here was cast using clay taken from the bed of the River Thames by artist Shane Waltener. When fired in the kiln, due to the unpredictability of this uncommon clay, one of the ceramic oranges was scorched.


We include here the casts for the clay, to suggest our unfolding process of research. Returned here in new forms, the clay oranges mark the cycle of human and plant movement, of information gathering and sharing, of ways to connect across geographical distance. 

Open Lab: Plant / Lives, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Public Workshop, March 2017

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