Plants are among the oldest species on our planet, they make up 99.7% of the biomass and are of vital importance to us humans and the natural world around us. Plants have abilities that are only gradually being deciphered by science. These fascinating communication strategies and their endangerment are the subject of a multidisciplinary art project developed especially for the Schwetzingen garden, initiated by Sarah Maria Sun and bringing together two artists who have never worked together before: the young Chilean composer Tamara Miller and Grace Ellen Barkey.

The self-evidence of seeing nature as the contemplative circle of life is no longer so apparent in this age of climate change. The observations of nature are rendered visible by the projection, and invite the audience to reflect on our impermanence. Not gloomily but with wonder. We should cherish this wonder, in order to consciously change our attitude to nature. 

Small sounds and impulses invite us to contemplate and enter into a time similar to that of the plant world, of slow rhythm and movement. In it, we can experience the connections between the variously shaped sound sculptures, which form a community of reciprocity, in reference to the forests and how the different species of plants connect and intermingle with each other. It is a call to empathise with and connect to non-human life and our ecosystem. 

Imagined Garden combines sound, visual art, science, technology and botany in a single installation, and transforms the Orangerie into a colourful and richly shaped experiential space, a garden of possibilities and memories.