This exhibition was the result of a walking tours project that identified plant species in the neighborhood. It was coordinated by biologists Iván Pérez and Lourdes Cruz of the Estanquillo El 32 collective. Based on those records, the artist Mariana Magdaleno was engaged to illustrate and re-create each of the botanical specimens in watercolors, in metaphorical reference to the cultural information that supports their scientific value or medical use in popular botanical traditions. The educational program that took place in the museum, managed by Ketzali Arreola, sought to create awareness about the diversity of plant species in the neighborhood, their characteristics, and the benefits of green spaces for everyday life in the city.

Together with the exhibition, the project consisted of a book, which included Mariana Magdaleno’s drawings of sixty plant species identified in the neighborhood and their characteristics, which specified their scientific name, their origin, and the principal guidelines for the care and use of each species. As part of the project, wooden signposts that act as fact sheets about each species were made and erected by the neighbors during the guided tours given by the biologists.

—Josefa Ortega y Rodrigo Cimancas

Curators: inSite/Casa Gallina staff

Venues: Museo de Geología, UNAM, Santa María la Ribera, Ciudad de México.

Acknowledgments