The exhibiotn is formally known as "Tiny unpredictable material objects: Postcolonial perspectives on Georg Forster’s herbarium specimens (1772–1775)."

Georg Forster was a naturalist, who at the age of just 17 years set off with his father Johann Reinhold Forster in Resolution on CaptainCook‘s second voyage around the world. During the voyage he collected herbal references and made drawings of plants and animals. The plant specimens, drawings and publications followed the standards established since the 1750s. 
Taking three plant species (Barringtonia asiatica, Artocarpus altilis and Tupeia antarctica) as examples, this exhibition analyses the means of documentation, the practices and the voids of botany. 
Barringtonia asiatica, a tree seen by Forster at Tahiti.
Artocarpus altilis, the breadfruit, seen by Forster at Tahiti.
Tupeia antarctica, a genus of mistletoe, seen by Forster at New Zelaand. It was named after the Rai’atean navigator, Tupaia, who travelled in Endeavour from Tahiti until his death at Batavia.

First shown in 2022 at the Forum Wissen in Göttingen, the exhibition has been slightly changed for Mainz

For more information, visit https://www.ub.uni-mainz.de/de/TUMO