15th Shanghai Biennale Explores Communication Between Human and Non-Human Intelligence

The 15th Shanghai Biennale, titled 'Does the flower hear the bee?', is currently on view at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai through March 31. Curated by Kitty Scott, the exhibition examines modes of perception and communication across different forms of intelligence. The show features a major installation by Puerto Rico-based artists Allora & Calzadilla titled 'Phantom Forest' (2025), consisting of synthetic yellow flowers suspended in the museum's atrium. Visitors receive honey samples from New Zealand's True Honey Company, framing their experience through the metaphor of bees gathering nectar. Other notable works include Aki Inomata's 'How to Carve a Sculpture' (2018–), where beavers from Japanese zoos create wooden forms that are then replicated at human scale; Xu Tiantian's documentary 'Into the Island' (2024) about designing a museum on Meizhou Island; and Rirkrit Tiravanija's text piece 'untitled 2025' (2025) stating 'THE FORM OF THE FLOWER IS UNKNOWN TO THE SEED'. Indigenous perspectives are represented through works like Audie Murray's 'To Make Smoke' (2025), featuring charcoal smudges from ceremonial plant burning. The exhibition includes contributions from artists such as Chen Ruofan, Gözde Mimiko Türkkan, Francis Alÿs, Cansu Yıldıran, and Rohini Devasher, exploring themes of labor, environmental awareness, and knowledge systems. The biennial positions art institutions as spaces for navigating contemporary uncertainty and fostering new forms of sensory communication.