An exhibition by Italian artist Giacomo Cossio at Braga Parque, which features 230 plants painted in various colors, opened on Monday, May 13, and is generating much controversy on social media and beyond. On Instagram, numerous criticisms rained down after the shopping center announced the "unprecedented exhibition" of "an explosion of color with plants in blue and pink tones, by the artist Giacomo Cossio, a passionate defender of the environment", which in addition to "offering a visually dazzling experience", represents Braga Parque's commitment to "a better future". From visual arts teachers, who promise to present this installation to students as "a terrible example of art", to influencers who highlight the "disrespect" that both the artist and the shopping center show for the plants that will be "unable to photosynthesize for a month", and even questioning the veracity of the fact that the paint is not "toxic", one of the voices that rose up against this exhibition was that of Sofia Manuel, better known on social media as A Tripeirinha. The "civil engineer who became a gardener", who has more than 194,000 followers on Instagram, made a video lamenting the situation. "Fed up with continuous and gratuitous disrespect for our home. Fed up with the 'sustainability' flag being flown when it doesn't belong to them," she began by emphasizing, adding that "she is 100% available to minimize the impact created - whether by helping to immediately relocate the plants and distribute them to different associations, or by helping with their recovery. To maintain what is happening is just complete madness". In addition to Sofia Manuel's page, other 'well-known pages' on social media have also reacted and are asking Braga Parque to put an end to the exhibition, which is scheduled to be on display at the shopping center until June 13. Slow Mãe, with more than 12,000 followers, for example, emphasizes that "not everything goes" even in the name of art, stressing that "art is not waste, it is not disrespect for nature". But there is more. There are hundreds and hundreds of disparaging comments about the initiative.

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In the meantime, Braga Parque has already reacted, in a post on Instagram in which user comments have been blocked. In the statement, the shopping center reiterates that "concern for nature is an inseparable pillar" of its essence and guarantees that the 'ContraNatura' exhibition was "carefully planned to raise awareness of the relationship between humans and nature, without compromising the latter".

To this end, Braga Parque states, the plants were supervised "by specialists in controlled environments, with all the conditions to grow healthily". In the end, the plants will be "donated to local institutions in Braga".

In addition to the problems that this type of action can cause to the plants, the various Internet users, including A Tripeirinha, also draw attention to the "astronomical expense" of water that will be necessary to clean these plants.

This project by Giacomo Cossio, created in 2017, has already toured several Italian cities.

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