Diana Scherer

Diana Scherer is fascinated by the underground life of plants. The subterranean root system of a plant acts as a type of brain; it navigates and knows what surrounds it by perceiving gravity, moisture and chemicals. The artist first began to apply this "intelligence" of plants in her work in 2015. She wanted to make these hidden processes visible, for them to be appreciated by a wider audience. In collaboration with biologists, Scherer developed a technique to control the growth of plant roots, turning them into an artificial textile. Scherer comments that: “I approach the root system as if it were yarn. For example, the refined, white root structure of grass reminds me of silk and the powerful, yellowish strands of the daisy I compare to wool.”