Naming Natures — Natural History and Colonial Legacy

In 1838, Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi (1818—1889), commissioned by the Natural History Museum of Neuchâtel, sailed to Peru on a merchant ship filled with fabrics, champagne, and watches. During his journey, which lasted almost five years, he hunted and prepared over a thousand specimens, which he sent to Neuchâtel. This story is not unique: many European museums have collections acquired in a colonial context.
The Naming Natures project, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, takes a critical look at natural history collections from colonial settings, combining scientific, historical, and museographic approaches. Is it still possible to exhibit these collections? And if so, how can they be presented differently without exoticizing or glorifying the figure of the “great men of science”? What responsibility do museums have towards the communities concerned?
The exhibition Naming Natures – Natural History and Colonial Legacy features archives, historical objects, and specimens, as well as works by contemporary artists from Latin America and Switzerland. It questions the separation between nature and culture and reflects on forms that processes of repair can take. It highlights the appropriation of natural heritage by Western scientists, often without regard for indigenous heritage or expertise. This imbalance of power persists to this day, underlining the need to facilitate intercultural partnerships at a time when the environment and society are undergoing immense change.
The Naming Natures art-science project is led by historian Tomás Bartoletti and artist-researcher Denise Bertschi, and created in collaboration with the team of the Natural History Museum of Neuchâtel. The exhibition is generously funded by the SNSF Swiss National Science Foundation’s Agora grant and supported by the professorship for History of the Modern World at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ).

The Naming Natures art-science project is led by historian Tomás Bartoletti and artist-researcher Denise Bertschi, and created in collaboration with the team of the Natural History Museum of Neuchâtel. The exhibition is funded by the city of Neuchâtel and by the Agora grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and supported by the professorship for the History of the Modern World at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ).

Artist list:

Chonon Bensho (*1992, Peru)

Denise Bertschi (*1983, Switzerland)

Enrique Casanto (*1956, Peru)

Pancho Fierro (*1807/1809—1879, Peru)

Ximena Garrido-Lecca (*1980, Peru)

Marco Herrera (*1980, Peru)

Fabiano Kueva (*1972, Ecuador)

María José Murillo (*1989, Peru)

Uriel Orlow (*Switzerland)

Raúl Silva (*1991, Peru)

Ivana de Vivanco (*1989, Chilean-Peruvian)

Danitza Willka (*2001, Peru)

Santiago Yahuarcani (*1961, Peru)