Pteridophilia (2016)

Overview

A VIDEO ART WORK IN FIVE CHAPTERS. 1. Six young ​men walk ​into a forest in Taiwan, making close contact with ferns. They establish emotional and physical relationships with the plants, relying on their bodies rather than words. Ferns are very common in Taiwan​. They​ are valued by ​indigenous ​people but not by Japanese colonists​ or the Nationalists​. 2. A man makes love to a bird's nest fern​ and then starts eating it. Zheng reflects on our current moral outlook that it is “natural” to eat plants but “unnatural” to make love to them. Bird's nest fern is a popular delicacy in Taiwan. 3. Zheng collaborates with three local BDSM practitioners who in turn collaborate with three ​fern species​ to expand BDSM practice. 4. For centuries humans have been in love with furled fronds of young ferns. Inspired by Yaoi anime, this chapter follows a young couple in their acts of love with fiddleheads. 5. This chapter connects spores and sperms.