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Yasmeen Abdal
Exhibition Design → Futerscape
Pratt Institute
Team Size: 2
Status: Installed 2025
Co-curated by Yasmeen Abdal and Professor Jean Brennan, Futurescape is a multi-sensory exhibition and book launch that explores the speculative potential of climate-resilient plants through natural dye, scent, and culinary artifacts.. Developed in conjunction with the publication Recipes for a Warmer World: Cooking up Plants of the Futurescape as Colors, Scents, and Foods (FRUIT&ROT, 2024), the project invites visitors to engage with the sensory and cultural dimensions of plants likely to thrive in future climate conditions.
The exhibition features dye swatches, herbal scents, and food-based recipes derived from seven selected plant species—accompanied by research artifacts and video interviews that document the creative and scientific processes behind the work. Essays in the 146-page risograph-printed book, written by Pratt faculty Jean Brennan, Cindie Kehlet, Audrey L.M. Lindsey, and herbalist Sarah Elisabeth, reflect on topics such as ethnobotany, the chemistry of color, the colonization of pokeweed, and a speculative hike along the Appalachian Trail.
Futurescape was designed to foreground materiality and storytelling while fostering ecological imagination. The project was published by FRUIT&ROT, printed by Lucky Risograph and Conveyor Studio, and generously supported by the Pratt STEAMplant Initiative.
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