In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers is a multisensory experience that marries art and science through a modern interpretation of Henry David Thoreau’s preserved plants. Thoreau was prolific in his practice of collecting botanical samples and plants are important indicators of how our world is responding to climate change.
A close reflection on Henry David Thoreau’s legacy brings into sharper focus his deep commitment to environmental conservation and civil disobedience, as well as his trove of treasured poems and essays. His decision to make his home at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts solidified Thoreau’s devotion in his role as a naturalist. Through his close relationship with the woods of Walden he observed the ebb and flow of the natural world first-hand. Thoreau’s journals reveal detailed observations on local flora and serve as poignant reminders of our responsibility to protect plant communities.
Plants are important indicators of how our world is responding to climate change and Thoreau was prolific in his practice of collecting botanical samples. Long preserved in the Harvard University Herbaria, 648 specimens serve as the foundation of this new exhibition. The digitization of these specimens inspired the creation of beautiful blue cyanotypes that are in direct conversation with illuminated rotating selections of Thoreau’s originals and immersive large-scale projected visualizations. The exhibition invites visitors to experience emotionally resonant connections to the profound loss of natural diversity caused by human-induced climate change. The exhibition urges us to ask, “what do Thoreau’s findings tell us about what plants are winning, and what plants are losing, in the face of climate change today?” The show is on view at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge. To learn more, and to learn hours and admission rates, visit https://hmnh.harvard.edu/search-thoreau-flowers-exploration
