Alice Dicembrino, 2024
Measures: 17 x 24 cm
Pages: 56
Technique: Exterior: hardcover; interior: printed on semi-matte coated paper, sewn binding
Pages: 56
Technique: Exterior: hardcover; interior: printed on semi-matte coated paper, sewn binding
Between the 14th and 17th centuries in Europe, the use of psychotropic plants—particularly Solanaceae such as belladonna and mandrake—was widespread and intertwined folk knowledge, magic, and botany. An anonymous 14th-century herbarium documents their medicinal and esoteric uses. At the center lies natural magic, and mydriasis—the dilation of the pupil caused by the alkaloids in Solanaceae—is understood as the key to interpreting the book, namely the transformation of the body and inner perception.