Steve Jones & Alejandra Abad: Lexicon de Plantas (Lexicon of Plants): Cyclicality and Participatory Community Experience in an Immersive Animated Installation

Lexicon de Plantas (2024) is a large-scale audiovisual and site- specific art installation that immerses the observer in a realm of visual poetry through layering memories from the past with contemplation of the present and of possible futures. It features the transformation of drawings into animations; these are then projected onto paper sculptures. It features conceptual and collaborative activations that work to break down the barriers between artist and audience by sharing community-sourced stories relating to memories of plants. This work invites the audience to engage with the complexities of memory, migration, and belonging. It explores magical realism through a lens of belonging and mutual compassion as key parts of collective wellness. The goal is to inspire environmental awareness through acts of care and intentionality by remembering and revering shared familial traditions that link to our relationships with plants. These memories become heirlooms, manifested in a space that allows for reflection before passing them down. The end of the installation featured a live music performance, readings of the written memories, and an open invitation for the audience to participate by telling their stories related to memories of plants. This collaboration between interdisciplinary visual artist Alejandra Abad and musician Steve Jones aims to foster empathy and to nurture our communities by engaging memory in relation to the moving image, collective awareness, and storytelling.