复盗 Re-stole (2019, 2024), installation with documents (rhododendron branch, glass cover, pictures, pages)

 

“已行之事，后必再行。”

"What has been done is what will be done."

 

1904年，苏格兰植物猎人傅礼士（George Forrest）来到云南。他在之后的28年间雇佣纳西族助手，搜集了超过30000种植物标本，将其按照西方分类法整理、归类、命名，贴上英文标签，运送回英国。同时，他也将上千种植物活体或种子带回英国培植。在这些植物和标本中包括了大量的杜鹃属植物。这些杜鹃的命名和引种使得傅礼士在同行中得享盛名。

2019年，我去到爱丁堡皇家植物园，试图寻找傅礼士从云南移栽的最早的杜鹃。这是一株搜集于1913年、种植于1914年的亮叶杜鹃（Rhododendron vernicosum）。我切下它的一段枝条，将其非法夹带回云南，并最终制成标本。

 

In 1904, George Forrest, a Scottish plant hunter, came to Yunnan. Over the next 28 years, he and his Naxi assistants collected more than 30,000 plant specimens, organised them according to Western taxonomy, categorised them, named them, labelled them in English and shipped them back to England. At the same time, he also brought thousands of plants back to England alive or from seed for cultivation. Included in these plants and specimens were a large number of rhododendrons. The naming and introduction of these rhododendrons made him renowned.

In 2019, I travelled to the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, trying to find the earliest rhododendron that Forrest transplanted from Yunnan. What I found was the Rhododendron vernicosum collected in 1913 and planted in 1914. I cut off a section of branch, brought it back to Yunnan illegally, and finally made it into a specimen.