Olalekan Jeyifous and AD—WO Explore Nonhuman Agency at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Olalekan Jeyifous and AD—WO Explore Nonhuman Agency at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
SLUG: olalekan-jeyifous-ad-wo-brooklyn-botanic-garden-ancestral-ecologies
EXCERPT: The “Ancestral Ecologies” exhibition at Brooklyn Botanic Garden features installations by artist Olalekan Jeyifous and architecture practice AD—WO, which investigate the inherent agency of natural materials and their historical resonance.
CATEGORY: Architecture News
TAGS: Olalekan Jeyifous, AD—WO, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Art Installation, Environmental Art, Sculpture, Urbanism
SEO_TITLE: Olalekan Jeyifous & AD—WO Unveil “Ancestral Ecologies” at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
SEO_DESCRIPTION: Discover how Olalekan Jeyifous and AD—WO’s new exhibition at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, “Ancestral Ecologies,” uses materials like glass, concrete, and shells to explore the active role of nature and history.
MEDIA_QUERY: Installation art at Brooklyn Botanic Garden by Olalekan Jeyifous and AD—WO
IMAGE_ALT: A tapering tower made of colored glass panels rises from a meadow at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is hosting “Ancestral Ecologies,” the inaugural exhibition of its new Heidi Nitze Art × Environment Fellowship. This program pairs an artist with an environmental thinker to create site-specific works that engage the public with critical environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity. The first fellowship recipients, Brooklyn-based artist Olalekan Jeyifous and architecture practice AD—WO, have designed four distinct installations across the garden’s northern section, challenging conventional notions of materiality and the environment.

Challenging Inertness

The exhibition is founded on a philosophical perspective that matter is not inert but possesses its own tendencies and a slow form of agency. This premise guides Jeyifous and AD—WO’s work, prompting viewers to consider the inherent life and influence of elements beyond the animate world. The artists are particularly interested in the concept of “nonhuman aliveness”—the ways in which objects like soil, weather, and minerals interact with and shape our environment, independent of human perception or intention. This approach draws from Latinx, Afrodiasporic, and Indigenous traditions that recognize nature as animate and relational.

Serpentine Specter

One of the prominent installations, “Serpentine Specter,” is a tapering tower that emerges from the Native Flora Garden meadow. Constructed from hundreds of small panels of kiln-fired colored glass in shades of blue, amber, and milky pink, the structure appears to shimmer and transform as sunlight passes through it. From a distance, the individual glass pieces coalesce into a unified, luminous form, illustrating the exhibition’s broader theme: how a collection of distinct parts, arranged thoughtfully, can behave as a single, dynamic entity.

Animist Capsules and Earthen Tiles

Nearby, “Animist Capsules” presents a cluster of concrete forms resting on slender legs. These capsules are designed to show the gradual takeover by nature, with moss beginning to spread across their surfaces. Their hollow centers are filled with iridescent glass, reminiscent of a geode, catching and reflecting light. This piece specifically marks the liminal space where rock transitions into moss and fungi, suggesting a continuous cycle of transformation. “Earthen Tiles,” laid flat in the grass, are hand-molded tiles that are already showing signs of returning to the soil, their edges darkening as they embark on a slow process of reintegration. These works do not merely illustrate the idea of matter acting; they embody it, operating on a timescale that extends far beyond the duration of the exhibition.

Sonic Strands

In a nearby concrete wall, “Sonic Strands” is installed within a series of open, window-like frames. This piece features strands composed of cowrie shells, recycled glass beads, and sea beans, designed to produce sound when moved by the wind. These objects carry significant cultural weight, representing Afrodiasporic, Latinx, and Indigenous histories of migration and connection. The sound produced by the wind passing through the shells and beads becomes an audible echo of these histories, highlighting the interconnectedness of sound, material, and heritage.

A Partnership with Nature

Emanuel Admassu of AD—WO described their design methodology as carefully calibrating how the materials interact with and emerge from the garden setting. Unlike traditional architectural practices that often start with the human body and expand outwards, this project begins from the ground up, treating the environment—the earth, weather, and wind—not merely as a backdrop but as an active partner in the creative process. The exhibition fundamentally posits that the world is not a passive entity to be observed but an active participant that responds and interacts with us.

Datos clave

This exhibition is particularly relevant to Paionia7’s readership as it bridges the fields of art, architecture, and environmental discourse. It showcases how designers and artists are engaging with pressing ecological concerns through innovative material use and site-specific installations. The focus on the agency of natural elements and historical narratives offers a fresh perspective on how built and natural environments can be understood and experienced, encouraging a more profound connection to the world around us.

Fuente: The Architect’s Newspaper, https://www.archpaper.com/2026/05/ancestral-ecologies-brooklyn-botanic-garden/