Transplant: A Tale of Three Continents

			by Esther Parada

















		Curator's Statement
An examination of "networking" among the wealthy and powerful a century ago, Esther Parada's work Transplant: A Tale of Three Continents follows the marriage of Mary Victoria Leiter, a Chicago heiress, and George Nathaniel Curzon, a British lord who became Viceroy of India. Two plants, cinchona (quinine) and wheat, traverse the bounds of this familial, commercial and geographic alliance. Lord Curzon's stellar diplomatic career was launched with the aid of Levi Leiter's wealth, gained in part from speculation in the grain market, while the British presence in India depended on quinine for sustaining the health of its bureaucracy and troops. Parada emphasizes that this is no simple tale of morality, but one that can challenge the polarities through which we tend to view historical events. 





	Artist's Statement
Manipulation of the social and physical environment, while often carried out in the name of nature or neutral progress, was invariably in the service of particular countries, classes or elites. I discovered and explored these links thanks to an invitation from Montage Gallery in Derby, England (in conjunction with the Design Research Centre at Derby University). Transplant is part of a larger series called Dig.Cultivation (commissioned for the 1995 National Photography Festival in Derby), which examines connections between horticultural and cultural histories.



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(Esther Parada, 901 N. Hoyne Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622-4902, U.S.A., e-parada@uic.edu.) 
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