Budnikov’s drawings and canvases are based on photographs he took in the greenhouse of Berlin’s old botanical garden. In images depicting elements of the greenhouse scenery, which range from concrete to rather abstract, the artist brings out a broader theme by captioning them with words like “Botanische Gärten Berlin.” He mimics the aesthetic of tourist postcards, where the caption serves a dual purpose: to identify and to remind. Yet instead of simply adding a caption, Budnikov reproduces it on multiple images, thus encouraging a completely different view: he is sharing his own perspective—as a displaced person, a temporary refugee—on these transplanted exotic plants reassembled in an artificial setting. Thus the artist breaks the magic spell of this glass-domed corner of paradise and exposes the fragility of the transparent walls separating the warm humidity of this artificial arrangement from the world outside.
The outlines of the exotic plants in many of the artworks call to mind fantastical creatures or ruins. Moving from one artwork to the next, the viewer’s wonder at the variety in this corner of artificial paradise turns to noticing their lines and patterns. One’s focus gradually shifts completely, and you get the impression that these plant forms are only a means for seeing what pretty paintings of exotic foliage are meant to hide.
The series Botanical Garden was first exhibited in the historic Berliner Terrain-Centrale pavilion, designed by architect Paul Poser in 1906. This exotic structure, the oldest in Berlin’s Frohnau neighborhood, was built in the midst of the forest landscape, which is still considered a natural manifestation of the German Romantic spirit. Featuring Oriental flourishes that were fashionable at the time, the building was used for selling land lots.
In Budnikov’s Botanical Garden, the problem emerges over a long, complex, and winding path. Caught by the ruse of discussing the touristic allure of the exotic, the viewer ultimately has to face the breakdown of familiar myths about the world order and to answer for their own colonial gaze. The exhibition’s spatial presentation also challenged visitors, forcing them to lean over or away from the canvases that dangled from the rafters like lianas. The exhibition visitors’ bodies also underwent a change in appearance, suddenly disappearing from view or leaving only their legs in sight. Installing Budnikov’s Botanical Garden in the pavilion for selling land lots raised questions about the point and lasting impact of cultural work, as well as about its political significance.
Vlada Ralko, 2025
(Translated from Ukrainian into English by Larissa Babij)
Created at the a_brucke residence from the Yurii Stashkiv Foundation Chervonechorne