Displayed in cabinets are the meticulously hand-copied version by Zheng Bo of an illustrated book created by Japanese colonial forces that occupied Taiwan between 1895-1945 that identifies and demonstrates edible plants. It notes, topping in terms of abundance and nutrition, ferns. A tool for survival by the occupied, the book points to the fragmentation with the local indigenous population that already knew to value ferns, while the retranscription demarks a certain re-seizing of knowledge. As such, the conversation around ecology extends beyond plants and sexuality to the usurping of control and political engagement.
