Drawing on the history of her native Brazil, colonised by Portugal, Adriana Varejao's paintings and installations draw our attention beyond their gleaming surfaces to what lies beneath. Panacea Phantastica presents us with a collection of tiles (mimicking the blue and white tiles commonly found in the historic buildings of Portugal), each one decorated with a botanical drawing. The illustrations are exquisite, but closer inspection reveals a darker side to these plants: each one is the raw ingredient used in the manufacture of a hallucinogenic substance. Installed on the base of the Wellington Column in what was once the heart of imperial Liverpool, the work gains new emphasis: Panacea Phantastica presents us with an entirely different sort of colonial trip, giving Welllington a high no column could offer, and reminding us that in the contemporary world, trade with the Americas still flourishes in unseen ways.

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Drawing on the history of her native Brazil, colonised by Portugal, Adriana Varejao's paintings and installations draw our attention beyond their gleaming surfaces to what lies beneath. Panacea Phantastica presents us with a collection of tiles (mimicking the blue and white tiles commonly found in the historic buildings of Portugal), each one decorated with a botanical drawing. The illustrations are exquisite, but closer inspection reveals a darker side to these plants: each one is the raw ingredient used in the manufacture of a hallucinogenic substance. Installed on the base of the Wellington Column in what was once the heart of imperial Liverpool, the work gains new emphasis: Panacea Phantastica presents us with an entirely different sort of colonial trip, giving Welllington a high no column could offer, and reminding us that in the contemporary world, trade with the Americas still flourishes in unseen ways.

Adriana Varejao's Panacea Phantastica is a collection of tiles decorated with exquisite drawings of plants. The visual language is distinctly European, mimicking the form and colours of a type of tile commonly found in the historic buildings of Portugal. But the plants illustrated are decidedly exotic, each one the raw material used in the manufacture of a hallucinogenic substance. Some of these (marijuana, for example) are familiar visitors to Europe; others, such as plants used in Amazonian tribal rituals, remain unknown outside their native context.
Installed in what was once the civic heart of imperial Liverpool, the work gains new emphasis. Nearby, the Central Library displays its copy of Audubon's lavishly illustrated Birds of America with pride. Varejao's Panacea Phantastica appropriates the Victorian love of taxonomy to present us with an entirely different sort of colonial trip, giving Wellington a high no column could offer, and reminding us that in the contemporary world, trade with the Americas still flourishes in unseen ways. Sorcha Carey
Panacea Phantastica.

[LESS]
Adriana Varejao's Panacea Phantastica is a collection of tiles decorated with exquisite drawings of plants. The visual language is distinctly European, mimicking the form and colours of a type of tile commonly found in the historic buildings of Portugal. But the plants illustrated are decidedly exotic, each one the raw material used in the manufacture of a hallucinogenic substance. Some of these (marijuana, for example) are familiar visitors to Europe; others, such as plants used in Amazonian tribal rituals, remain unknown outside their native context.
Installed in what was once the civic heart of imperial Liverpool, the work gains new emphasis. Nearby, the Central Library displays its copy of Audubon's lavishly illustrated Birds of America with pride. Varejao's Panacea Phantastica appropriates the Victorian love of taxonomy to present us with an entirely different sort of colonial trip, giving Wellington a high no column could offer, and reminding us that in the contemporary world, trade with the Americas still flourishes in unseen ways. Sorcha Carey
Panacea Phantastica.