Spectulative Objects on Vegetation and Disturbance presents a series of art installations that synthesize and translate the research conducted by the artist-researcher Miguel Costa around "lesser landscapes". The social lives of vegetations flourishing in neglected territories of the city, escaping the desire for order found in gardens and parks, take center stage and materialize in installations, photographs, videos, and maps, as well as in living components extracted from nature. The artist's body of work engages with the historically broad narratives that structure the introduction and spread of these vegetations in territories, referencing colonialism and issues of health and public management in Western cities. The profound exploration of these complex interactions, shaping landscapes and societies, invites visitors to reflect on the influence of vegetation on urban and suburban dynamics and its intertwining with complex geopolitical entanglements.
Miguel Costa, artist/architect and invited assistant professor at FBAUP (Fine Arts Faculty, University of Porto). PhD in Landscape Architecture and Urban Ecology (ISA — University of Lisbon); Master's degree in Art and Design for the Public Space (FBAUP). Integrated researcher at i2ADS Research Institute of Art, Design and Society (FBAUP) and associate member at CEAA – Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo. Works individually or in collaboration under the name 'maarqa — micro atelier de arquitectura e arte'. His practice is developed through interconnected strategies between art, landscape and architecture. He has been carrying out artistic research work on the relationship between colonial botany and the landscapes of everyday places.