The Natural History Museum (NHM) in Vienna is offering visitors a unique three-dimensional perspective on the plant kingdom through its new exhibition "Two Views on Plants." Using classic red-blue 3D glasses, audiences can immerse themselves more deeply into the botanical photographs created by artist Sebastian Cramer, experiencing plants in an entirely new visual dimension.

Photographer and filmmaker Sebastian Cramer, born in 1962, deliberately employs the old but largely forgotten technique of stereoscopy as a counterpoint to the overwhelming flood of digital photography in today's world. "We live in a world of image inflation. This leads to us not seeing images better, but rather seeing them more superficially," explained the Berlin-based artist, describing his motivation to rescue this 19th-century technique from being dismissed as merely a gimmick.

Cramer's approach to botanical photography celebrates plants as graphic creatures, with his diverse collection serving as an invitation to dialogue between viewer and subject. His decision to focus on plants stems partly from their transient nature, as he explains: "They show how fleeting our own existence is." Through enormous magnification, specimens like lady's mantle, flame lily, and opium poppy lift themselves from flat surfaces, appearing to move with the viewer and revealing hidden beauties that would otherwise go unnoticed.

The 3D effect creates surprising discoveries for visitors, such as the revelation that the seed heads of Schubert's allium appear to grin like a herd of skulls when viewed through the stereoscopic lens. These dancing skull-like formations demonstrate how the technology can transform ordinary botanical subjects into extraordinary visual experiences that challenge our typical perception of plant life.

While Cramer's photographs work effectively in two dimensions through their abstracted structures, the artist pushes this concept to its limits in his newest series displayed at the NHM. In this latest work, Cramer abandons purely documentary approaches and moves toward digital processing, elevating the depicted branches and blossoms entirely into the realm of pure form and artistic abstraction.

The comprehensive special exhibition also serves to highlight the Natural History Museum's extensive herbarium collections, which contain 5.5 million specimens and rank among the largest in the world, according to curator Tanja Schuster. Beyond showcasing Cramer's artistic work, the exhibition functions as a trial run for future projects. "This show is a small test for the hopefully upcoming permanent botanical exhibition," Schuster noted, indicating the museum's broader ambitions for botanical displays.

"Two Views on Plants" focuses primarily on the aesthetic components of plants, despite their multifaceted properties as the foundation of human life, as emphasized by NHM General Director Katrin Vohland. "We want to have beauty, and flowers are very often part of that. Beauty and aesthetics do us humans good," Vohland stated, explaining the exhibition's emphasis on the visual appeal of botanical subjects.

Visitors to the Natural History Museum can experience this unique blend of historical photographic technique and contemporary botanical art through March 1, 2026. The exhibition is located at the museum's main building on Burgring 7 in Vienna's first district, offering an extended opportunity for audiences to explore this innovative approach to plant photography and stereoscopic viewing technology.