Return of "Gromovia Pulchella"

Kalle Hamm (FI) & Dzamil Kamanger (IR/FI)

THE RETURN OF GROMOVIA PULCHELLA
Five little interventions in the Gromovsky Garden

A Belgian botanist Jean Jules Linden found a new water willow species from New Granada, on his expeditions to Mesoamerica 1830 – 40’s. He brought it to Europe and its seeds were sent to the Imperial Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg. The director of the Botanical Garden designated the opened plant found by Linden as Gromovia pulchella in honour of Vasily Gromov, who was one of the 12 founders of the Russian imperial Society of Gardening.

On May 8, 1869 the European scientists and the gardeners – Jean Jules Linden among them –have arrived to St. Petersburg on the international exhibition of gardening, devoted to the Gromovsky Garden the whole day. They examined greenhouses and a garden and replaced Gromovia pulchella in the garden as a sign of expression of the botanical delight from the seen. A linden tree was decorated with sheets of paper with the surnames of each visitor.

The aim of our five little interventions is to return Gromovia pulchella back to the Gromovsky Garden and make its travelling story continue via the Internet and postal mail. We do not want to set up colossal monuments, but rather create little situations, with interacts and activate local park users and show history of the Dacha Gromova through the plants point of view. We also wish, that Gromovia pulchella will be blooming in flower pots again in the garden one day in the future.

The sound of the e-card and audio piece is based on audio material recorded directly form the Gromovia pulchella and modified then by analogical devices. The recording method used was developed by Ivan Gunar in the Soviet Union in the 60's – 70's, who explored techniques of measuring the electrophysiology of plants.

Kalle Hamm
Gromovia pulchella (audio)
Sound art, 3 min, 2015
 

Dzamil Kamanger
Gromovia pulchella
Bead knitting, 30 x 15 cm, 2015
 

Kalle Hamm & Dzamil Kamanger
Gromovia pulchella postcards
 

Kalle Hamm & Dzamil Kamanger
Gromovia pulchella e-cards
Three e-postcards, each video clip approx. 1 min, 2015