Exhibition: Simone Hooymans

Talking Plants

Animation by Simone Hooymans

12 Dec 2023
17 Mar 2024

In the audio and video installation "Talking Plants," viewers were invited to explore a peculiar botanical world with mystical plants and their personal voices.

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Talking Plants - Animation by Simone Hooymans during Museumnacht 4 & 11 November 2023 Romy Kerkman

The mystical design of some plants in the animation is inspired by the ancient Botanical Voynich manuscript, written by an unknown author in an unknown code in the 15th century. The mysterious plants from the manuscript and the never-deciphered code evoke thoughts of the secret, incomprehensible communication that plants have among themselves. This inspired Simone to create this animation in which the plants display movements and speak their own language.

The soundscape is composed of twelve selected national and international musicians, each contributing their own interpretation of a plant's "voice."

"Talking Plants" is a permanent video installation on display at the Deichman Bjørvika library in Oslo, Norway.

Simone Hooymans creates experimental animations based on a hand-drawn world that she combines with digital animation techniques. She crafts elusive, at times unsettling universes. Hooymans' works express the human relationship with nature in various ways, drawing inspiration from landscapes, climate change, and our ongoing struggle to comprehend the world. Through her animations and video installations, Hooymans creates synergies between innovative music and art.