Watering Cans and Glasses.
Exhibition "Loving MTRiarchy"
Zurich (CH), 2026
Photos: ©Guillaume Musset & Djamila Grossman

Teetering plants explores the gesture of pouring through a subtle shift in context.

An agricultural study has shown that diluted ethanol solutions can increase the drought resistance of crops. The research focused on plants such as rice and wheat. In response to alcohol, plants partially close their stomata, reducing water loss and allowing them to better withstand periods of water scarcity.

During the event, wine was served from watering cans, inviting participants to pour drinks for one another. The work replaces the familiar wine bottle with an object associated with plant care. This shift transforms the familiar ritual of wine consumption, redirecting attention from its packaging and social conventions to the simple act of pouring.

The expression "to give the plants a drink" reveals an unexpected overlap between watering and serving a beverage. The two gestures are almost identical, yet they belong to entirely different symbolic and cultural contexts. What remains constant when the same movement is performed through a different object? And how does the object itself transform the meaning of the action?

Conceived as a behavioural experiment, Teetering Plants invites participants to inhabit this ambiguity. Meaning emerges through an interplay of gestures, objects, contexts, and rituals.