Roots
2020, edition of 10
velvet, gemstones, glass pearls
different sizes
What is more needed in these cold winter months with its lockdowns and social distancing than a soft, friendly, magical companion, who you can hold tight and who tells us a tale about human-plant relationships and our misconceptions of the plant world? Leonie Falke and Rosanna Graf teamed up to bring to you 10 velvety objects, that are inspired by the infamous mandrake plant and its magical potential.
The mandrake, a nightshade plant, not only has interesting roots, which are formed similar to the human body, but also can emit a deadly scream, when someone tries to dig her up. In the Middle Ages the mandrake root had a legendary reputation and could fetch horrendous prices. Since ancient times it has been used for magical potions, as a talisman and for fertility spells. Its most famous use is in the flying ointment of witches. Various poisonous, psychedelic nightshades were mixed with animal fat and then rubbed into the mucous membranes with the help of a broom stick or similar instrument. This potent psychedelic ointment made witches “fly”, helped them shape-shift into animals and send out curses. Mandrake was also used by the common folk as a talisman, that was kept in a box, equipped with precious little dresses and tenderly spoiled by its owner. Laid under the bed it was supposed to help with fertility. It was even said, that if taken in it could change a person’s sex. Often the mandrake was depicted as a human figure from which leaves and fruits are growing.
To us the mandrake root is a symbol for an active, intelligent, sentient plant world, an idea that still today is often times questioned by popular science. Through its scream the mandrake becomes an active resistance fighter of the plant kingdom and thus, as a plant-human hybrid, calls into question original views of nature and our relationship with it. Get yourself your own personal mandrake root. (Re-)connect with nature, love it and you will feel loved back.
The edition consists of 10 velvet objects enriched with gemstones and/or glass pearls and cotton cord root hair.
Each root comes with a spell and a (real) mandrake seed, for you to put into the world or in a pot on your windowsill.
To purchase please send an email to: rosannamarialuciagraf@gmail.com with the name of the root (see below) and your address.
First come, first serve. Prices include shipping. Payment will be possible via Paypal or bank transfer.
Artist edition by Leonie Falke and Rosanna Graf
Photography by Robert Hamacher
(Last photo by Rosanna Graf)
Roots
2020, edition of 10
velvet, gemstones, glass pearls
different sizes
What is more needed in these cold winter months with its lockdowns and social distancing than a soft, friendly, magical companion, who you can hold tight and who tells us a tale about human-plant relationships and our misconceptions of the plant world? Leonie Falke and Rosanna Graf teamed up to bring to you 10 velvety objects, that are inspired by the infamous mandrake plant and its magical potential.
The mandrake, a nightshade plant, not only has interesting roots, which are formed similar to the human body, but also can emit a deadly scream, when someone tries to dig her up. In the Middle Ages the mandrake root had a legendary reputation and could fetch horrendous prices. Since ancient times it has been used for magical potions, as a talisman and for fertility spells. Its most famous use is in the flying ointment of witches. Various poisonous, psychedelic nightshades were mixed with animal fat and then rubbed into the mucous membranes with the help of a broom stick or similar instrument. This potent psychedelic ointment made witches “fly”, helped them shape-shift into animals and send out curses. Mandrake was also used by the common folk as a talisman, that was kept in a box, equipped with precious little dresses and tenderly spoiled by its owner. Laid under the bed it was supposed to help with fertility. It was even said, that if taken in it could change a person’s sex. Often the mandrake was depicted as a human figure from which leaves and fruits are growing.
To us the mandrake root is a symbol for an active, intelligent, sentient plant world, an idea that still today is often times questioned by popular science. Through its scream the mandrake becomes an active resistance fighter of the plant kingdom and thus, as a plant-human hybrid, calls into question original views of nature and our relationship with it. Get yourself your own personal mandrake root. (Re-)connect with nature, love it and you will feel loved back.
The edition consists of 10 velvet objects enriched with gemstones and/or glass pearls and cotton cord root hair.
Each “Root” comes with a spell and a (real) mandrake seed, for you to put into the world or in a pot on your windowsill.
To purchase please send an email to: rosannamarialuciagraf@gmail.com with the name of the Root (see below) and your address.
First come, first serve. Prices include shipping. Payment will be possible via Paypal or bank transfer.
Artist edition by Leonie Falke and Rosanna Graf
Photography by Robert Hamacher
(Last photo by Rosanna Graf)