‘Push / Pull’ – Nature as Collaborator + Plant Swap

Special Event
14 June 2025
Sprouted pea shoots growing densely in a shallow white container with visible roots and water below.
Sprouted pea shoots growing densely in a shallow white container with visible roots and water below.

Join us for an afternoon of artist talks, green-thinking and community connection, exploring how artists collaborate with plants, landscapes and more-than-human worlds.

When

Adelaide Contemporary Experimental

14 June 2025

3:00pm to 6:00pm

Access

Shenshen Zheng will share her experiences working with peas (Pisum sativum) in her slow-moving plant performance Peas, Shoots and Leaves. Trudy Tandberg will speak about her work with limestone, saws and soil in Cleaving the Woakwine. Artist and ecologist Amber Cronin joins Stephanie Dodderidge and Danni Zuvela for an open conversation on ecologically engaged art in South Australia. To close the day, Heidi Kenyon will lead a casual discussion (and potential experiment) in guerilla gardening.

We’ll also be hosting a plant swap – bring a cutting and take home something new!

Feature Image: Shenshen Zheng (2025), 'Peas, Shoots and Leaves', progress documentation. Photography by Lana Adams.

Artist Speakers

Amber Cronin,
Stephanie Doddridge,
Heidi Kenyon,
Trudy Tandberg,
Shenshen Zheng

Artists

Antony Abbracciavento,
Elyas Alavi,
Emiko Artemis,
Stephen Atkinson,
Troy-Anthony Baylis,
Alycia Bennett,
Jingwei Bu,
Patrick William Carter,
Luna Chan,
Allison Chhorn,
Amber Cronin,
Dylan Crismani,
Eleen Deprez,
Stephanie Doddridge,
Adam-Troy Francis,
Paul Gazzola,
Alex Grant,
Sasha Grbich,
Dominic Guerrera,
Ray Harris,
Aidan Hughes,
Matt Huppatz,
Heidi Kenyon,
Kirsty Martinsen,
Monte Masi,
VNS Matrix,
Shan Michaels,
Ariella Napoli,
Alexandra Nitschke,
Chris Reid,
Yasemin Sabuncu,
Fiona Salmon,
Cynthia Schwertsik,
Gabriella Smart,
Soundstream,
Trudy Tandberg,
Sione Teumohenga,
Sarah Tickle,
Henry Wolff,
Shirley Wu,
Robert Wyatt,
Jake Yang,
Yasser Yassin,
Shenshen Zheng,
Students from South Australian School for the Visually Impaired

Curators

Henry Wolff,
Danni Zuvela

About the Exhibition

Featuring a program of live, experiential, post-object and otherwise ‘non-haveable’ art encounters, and unpacking Adelaide’s leading role as the historical world centre of post-object art today, Push / Pull asks: What kinds of encounters are possible, when the shock of the new is a local tradition?

Support

Adelaide Contemporary Experimental (ACE) is supported by Create SA and Creative Australia.
This project is supported by City of Adelaide and History Trust of South Australia. Shan Michaels is supported by Arts Queensland.
Special thanks to project partners the South Australian School and Services for the Visually Impaired, and The Mercury.

ACErlu tampinthi, ngadlu Kaurna yartangka inparrinthi. Kaurna miyurna yaitya yarta-mathanya Wama Tarntanyaku. Parnaku yailtya, parnaku tapa purruna, parnaku yarta ngadlurlu tampinthi. Yalaka Kaurna miyurna itu yailtya, tapa purruna, yarta kuma puru martinthi, puru warri-apinthi, puru tangka martulayinthi. Ngadlurlu tampinthi purkana pukinangku, yalaka.

ACE respectfully acknowledges the Kaurna people are the traditional custodians of the Adelaide Plains. We recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land. We acknowledge that they are of continuing importance to the Kaurna people living today. We acknowledge Elders past and present.