In 1755 the Swedish biologist Daniel Rolander documented the use of plants in Suriname and recorded exchanges of knowledge between enslaved people and local communities. He observed that enslaved people knew the forest ‘like the back of their hand.’ Michelle Piergoelam’s Fourteen Leaves and a Cup of Water takes inspiration from that record and from the plants themselves, which she first photographed in 2024 in Suriname, the country of her parents’ birth.
The botanical knowledge held by enslaved communities was an important source of strength and resistance. Enslaved people recognised plants in the Surinamese flora that were related to species from Africa and understood which leaves had medicinal properties and which plants were edible or poisonous. They also knew how these plants could be used to survive their situation — even to poison their oppressors. This deep-rooted expertise enabled them to endure harsh conditions, escape, survive, and establish free communities in the dense rainforests of Suriname.
Through collaboration with biologists from Naturalis and local partners in Suriname, including Irvin Ristie, who guided Piergoelam through the rainforest, and shaman Amashina Oedemmaloe, the project intricately connects art, shamanism, and science. Many traditional customs in Suriname have remained largely unchanged: cups are still carved from the white wood of the kwasibita tree and filled with water or alcohol, the bitter drink used to combat malaria fever. The highly poisonous drunguman, named after the staggering gait that results from drinking the herb, is no longer used to poison Europeans, but lives on in herbal baths intended to ward off supernatural enemies.
Suriname, a multicultural society with exceptional biodiversity, has thousands of local plant names, not all of which have been documented. Nearly 270 years after Rolander, the Surinamese rainforest continues to hold new stories waiting to be heard and made visible. Fourteen Leaves and a Cup of Water forms the third chapter of Piergoelam’s ongoing project The Untangled Tales (2020–present), in which she explores sources of hope and strength among enslaved people in Suriname, centring on underrepresented histories, oral traditions, and the resilience of cultural memory. The book is co-published with Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
