Donata Lazzarini's 'Celibi' at Palermo Botanical Garden Explores Botanical Migration and Extinction
Donata Lazzarini will showcase 'Celibi. Storia di una migrazione botanica' at the Orto Botanico dell'Università degli Studi di Palermo, an exhibition curated by Maria Rosa Sossai and commissioned by Unipa Heritage. Supported by PAC2025, this event is scheduled from 8 May 2026 to 20 October 2026. The highlight of the exhibition, 'Il giorno in cui Woodii si svegliò femmina,' centers on Encephalartos woodii, a species identified by John Medley Wood in 1895, which became extinct in its natural habitat by 1916. Lazzarini's work includes ten ceramic sculptures and three large window decals that explore themes of plant migration and genetic engineering. Established in the late 18th century, the Orto Botanico spans 10 hectares and features over 12,000 species, having previously hosted contemporary art.
Key facts
- Exhibition title: 'Celibi. Storia di una migrazione botanica' by Donata Lazzarini, curated by Maria Rosa Sossai.
- Dates: 8 May 2026 – 20 October 2026 at Orto Botanico dell'Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Lincoln, 2, Palermo.
- Commissioned by Unipa Heritage – Sistema Museale dell'Università degli Studi di Palermo; supported by PAC2025 – Piano per l'Arte Contemporanea, Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea, Ministero della Cultura.
- Central work: 'Il giorno in cui Woodii si svegliò femmina,' inspired by Encephalartos woodii, discovered in 1895 in Ngoye forest, KwaZulu-Natal, by John Medley Wood; only male specimens found, uprooted in 1916, extinct in nature.
- Palermo's garden holds Encephalartos woodii × natalensis, the closest relative to the original species.
- About ten white ceramic and porcelain sculptures, created via digital elaboration of historical botanical illustrations and 3D modeling/printing, imagine the unknown female strobilus.
- Three large window decals on the Cactaceae greenhouse map themes: plant migration, male sterility linked to Marcel Duchamp's 'celibacy,' and genetic engineering/sex change hypotheses.
- A free artist's manifesto with QR codes addresses botanical de-extinction and biotechnological species revival.
Entities
Artists
- Donata Lazzarini
- Maria Rosa Sossai
- Léon Dufourny
- John Medley Wood
- Marcel Duchamp
- Fallen Fruit
- Domenico Pellegrino
- Alessandro Sala
- Francesco Diluca
Institutions
- Orto Botanico dell'Università degli Studi di Palermo
- Unipa Heritage – Sistema Museale dell'Università degli Studi di Palermo
- Università degli Studi di Palermo
- PAC2025 – Piano per l'Arte Contemporanea
- Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea
- Ministero della Cultura
- Manifesta 12
- Juliet Art Magazine
Locations
- Palermo
- Italy
- Ngoye forest
- KwaZulu-Natal
- South Africa