NATIVE AND MIGRANTS

Olga Kisseleva’s works are characterized hybrid art & science approach. She does not neglect the social problems. It is for this reason that she has become interested in the dilemma of the coexistence of “immigrant” and “native” plants, examining it through the lens of modern society.

Combining biology and aesthetics, Olga Kisseleva is exposing the hidden mechanisms of social manipulation. Nowadays, science knows that groups of trees – just like human societies and animal communities – establish hierarchies, being divided into “leaders” and “followers”. These plant “families” and the connections between them are eerily reminiscent of those which prevail in the relationships between humans and animals living in packs.

The “social relationships” among plants are being actively investigated by prominent scientists, such as Prof. S. Mancuso, Prof. A. Novoplansky, Prof. Richard Carban, Prof. Suzanne Simard, and others. In her art&science projects, Olga Kisseleva is collaborating with many of them. While studying the forest as a separate community of plants, the artist focuses her attention not only on the biological problems, but also on the ethical challenges facing modern “social society”, initiating a critical sociopolitical discussion every time she does so.