Spanish artist Juan Zamora, who has dedicated his oeuvre to charting the connection between humans and nature, is back with yet another piece in which he has fused human organs with those of a plant. Though it may sound more fiction than reality, Zamora had previously transfused human blood into the tissues of a spinach leaf in his piece Transplant, creating an artificial human/plant heart.
This time, Zamora has created a more personal piece. He reproduced his own spine in bamboo and attached cartilage cells from his own intervertebral disks to the stems of a bamboo plant. This act allows the piece to grow as any other bamboo plant would, effectively fusing his biological self with those of a plant, blurring the lines between his physical self and the plant.
Just like in Transplant, the fact that it is possible to fuse the human body with that of a plant shows that the two are indeed connected and interdependent in the planetary ecosystem. Hence, the pieces call for the conservation and preservation of plants and human life. This is why the bamboo spine by Juan Zamora is relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land.
Inspiration for the piece came to Zamora in June 2024, when he had spinal surgery. Under anesthesia, Zamora had a dream where he walked through a bamboo forest; however, the state that he was in made him feel that the bamboo forest was walking through him. The piece was carried out in collaboration with the Carlos III Health Institute and the Ruber Clinic in Madrid, Spain, and is now exhibited at the Madrid-based Espacio Valverde.
Zamora’s decision to fuse his spine with bamboo may have been based on a dream, however the decision does carry real-life gravitas. The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has since 2004 called for urgent action to protect bamboo, as 1,200 species are in danger of extinction due to massive forest destruction. All this is happening even though many vulnerable species, such as the giant pandas, mountain gorillas and lemurs, depend primarily on bamboo for their diet.
Juan Zamora's bamboo spine is a deeply personal and symbolic exploration of the connection between humans and plants. By fusing his spine with bamboo, Zamora creates a living artwork that reflects the interdependence between human life and nature, echoing themes from his earlier work Transplant. The piece blurs the lines between the human body and plant life. It highlights the urgency of environmental preservation, particularly in the case of bamboo, which plays a vital role in ecosystems. This work reminds everyone that the conservation of nature is ultimately intertwined with the survival of humanity.
Find out more about the bamboo spine and other pieces by Juan Zamora on their website www.juanzamora.com or Instagram @jvanzamora.