Creatures adapt to belong, driven by an unstoppable survival instinct. They find ways to survive in limbo, underground, or in the stumps of other trees. Uprooted unites five artists whose works delve into ecologies of displacement, transformation, and connection, offering an exploration of what it means to grow through disruption. Where human societies fail to provide conditions for life to thrive, these artists reveal the unlikely forms of resilience that emerge in uprooted environments. Their work weaves a world where survival takes shape through migration, weaving, and storytelling—a world where forms speak volumes about power, resistance, and adaptation.
What do we carry with us when displaced? How does our heritage transform in new environments? We take grafting and pruning—the acts of cutting and joining—as lessons in embodied knowledge and survival. Through photocollages, installations, rattan weaving, murals, the artists explore the intersections of art, ecology, and collective learning. They weave memory and place into creations that challenge the restrictions imposed by human systems, embracing the inventiveness of life.
From uprooted roots to blossoming branches grafted onto new stumps, these works speak to life’s tenacity. They imagine flowers blossoming from the ceiling, scurrying rats, and migrants making a living in the belly of a Chinese restaurant kitchen, revealing life’s uncanny ability to adapt, cross boundaries, break rules, and create magic. As new roots grow where old ones were severed, the artists highlight how we might find belonging not only by returning to where we came from but by grounding ourselves in where we are now.
Decay, life, and death intertwine in this exploration of survival.
Under the tree, we find roots and routes that connect us all.
Text by Shailoh Phillips