PRESENTATION OF THE NATURALLY PROJECT AS PART OF THE EXHIBITION “WHAT WOULD NATURE TELL US IF WE ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?”
Cooperation between science and art is one of the recent trends in the popularization of science. We tried our hand at this scientific-artistic expression with an experiment entitled “Symbiosis of worlds: art and science in dialogue – Coexistence with invasive species”. As part of the group exhibition on the topic of planetary interconnections “What would nature tell us if we asked the right questions?“, in collaboration with the curator Ivana Meštrov and the Art Pavilion in Zagreb, in the Forum Gallery. On April 15, 2024, Ph.D. Danijela Poljuha presented the results of the scientific research project “NATURE as an ALLIANCE: Foreign invasive plant species as a source of pharmaceuticals – NATURALLY” financed by the Croatian Science Foundation, with a visual interpretation of the topic through the artistic intervention of Elena Poljuha, a 2nd year student of Graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts University of Zagreb.
In the dialogue between science and art, through a popular-scientific lecture accompanied by an artistic performance, we looked for answers to global questions posed by the inevitability of species coexistence: Is the key to ecosystem balance and biodiversity conservation in the use of invasive species? Can we use invasive species as providers of new ecosystem services?
Can invasive species be a source of valuable bioactive phytochemicals? In this, slightly different way, in the gap between science and art, we wanted to bring the results of the research carried out as part of the project closer to the general public. We would like to thank the Art Pavilion and all collaborators for this exceptional opportunity to broaden our horizons and put research into a broader context of today.
(Photo: Jovica Drobnjak)
