Gina Buenfeld-Murley, curator of the exhibition ‘The Botanical Mind’ at Camden Art Centre, joined Dr Christopher Harding, arts historian, to discuss the noh play ‘Bashō’ (Plantain Tree) by Konparu Zenchiku (1405-1470), ahead of its historic first-ever performance outside Japan.
At the heart of ‘Bashō’ lies the Buddhist teaching (somoku jobutsu): “All plants enact Buddhahood.” This idea, based on the Lotus Sutra, suggests that everything – from plants and trees to the earth itself – shares the ability for enlightenment.
In reference to the exhibition, ‘The Botanical Mind’, Gina Buenfeld-Murley and Christopher Harding invited audiences to step into the spiritual essence of ‘Bashō’, while reflecting on plant intelligence, sacred geometry, and non-anthropocentric perspectives across cultures and history.
About Gina Buenfeld-Murley
Gina Buenfeld-Murley is a curator engaged in the intersection of contemporary art, ecology, spirituality, and indigenous worldviews. In her ongoing work as Exhibitions Curator at Camden Art Centre she has curated solo shows with numerous artists including Jack O’Brien; Lonnie Holley; Tamara Henderson. She recently co-curated a major Nicola L. survey and has organised exhibitions on important twentieth-century artists including Martin Wong and Grace Pailthorpe & Reuben Mednikoff. Her research with indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest led to a series of thematic exhibitions between 2019 – 2020 including:
The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and The Cosmic Tree (Camden Art Centre); Gaa:
Holistic Science and Wisdom Tradition (Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange, Cornwall); and Origin Story (The Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art, Turku, Finland).
About Christopher Harding
Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian History at the University of Edinburgh. His latest book is A Short History of Japan (Pelican, 2025). He is on Substack and Instagram:
History with Chris Harding. He has also worked in broadcast journalism for BBC Radio 3 and 4, including a four-part series on global cultures and mental health, The Borders of Sanity. He writes for a broad range of publications.
