A hybridization of “séance,” a seating, and “sorium,” a sensual experience, the séance-sorium is an immersive collaboration of plants and people.
It is inspired by the 19th Century spiritualists and the French Surrealists who adopted the practice of automatism and embraced the nonrational. These automatic processes seek to synchronize the energy of the plant with the visceral and spontaneous responses of the participants who imagine the possibilities of being-plant. These actions may seem absurd and purposeless, which can be uncomfortable, but they allow us to transcend value judgments and anthropological hierarchies. Here, thinking with plants gives rise to a creative spirit of the seance-sorium.
University of Maine Department of Art: Art & Creative Ecologies Series,
Séance-sorium is a performance-based project that explores the intangible dimensions of being and becoming with plants.
It merges elements of academic panels, workshops, and direct engagement with plants, creating a hybrid creative practice.
Rooted in spiritualist traditions and Indigenous vegetal knowledge, this ongoing series invites participants to attune to plant consciousness through collective, collaborative, and embodied encounters.
At the heart of the Séance-sorium is the concept of corazonar con plantas—a feeling-thinking experience where humans and plants connect through sensory (organoleptic) engagement. Our approach is experimental and embodied—recovering the body’s innate ability to communicate with the vegetal world. We reject the mundane and instrumental ways in which plants are often perceived, instead proposing Thinking-Being-with-Plants as both a concept and a method. This process fosters a radical entanglement, a form of mycorrhizal thinking that dissolves the boundaries between species.
Through each iteration, the Séance-sorium unravels the intricate relationships between the human and non-human, challenging the conventional nature-culture divide and proposing a more fluid, interconnected understanding of existence. Through this practice, we cultivate alternative ways of being in a changing world, fostering ethical and aesthetic shifts that reframe our relationship with the more-than-human. Every Séance-sorium is site-specific, adapting to the cultural, ecological, and historical contexts of its location.
Conceived by The Plant Contingent, Séance-sorium draws inspiration from their academic research on art and philosophy, the 19th-century spiritualist séance, surrealist experiments in inter-world communication, and the ancestral wisdom of Andean and Amazonian yachags and vegetalistas.
Each performance is a living process, evolving as we deepen our relationships with plants and with each other. Each version of Séance-sorium adapts to its specific context, engaging deeply with its environment, audience, and the spiritual dimensions of plant-being. From historic tabernacles to contemporary art spaces, these performances create ephemeral yet profound connections between plants, people, and place.
A Séance-sorium unfolds through five interwoven movements: Bring a plant to the event
Each Séance-sorium is unique as it is shaped by the plants and people present, allowing for a dynamic interplay of knowledge, sensation, and improvisation.
Participating in a Séance-sorium
To take part in a Séance-sorium, participants are encouraged to bring a plant, an open mind, and a willingness to engage beyond the human-centered world. Sessions typically accommodate 10–20 participants and last approximately 80 minutes. Pre-registration is required, and materials for creative responses are available.