In a time of instant connectivity and rapid change, “Floating Roots” invites you to enter a quiet space, pause, and rediscover slow ways of living—an existence where meaning unfolds not through efficiency, but through patience, observation, and the time it takes to create and make connections. This exhibition is a celebration of slowness, a reflection on the sense of belonging in a world that seems to be moving away from it.
The centerpiece of this series consists of seven portraits drawn on nautical charts that artist and sailor Chloé Brenta created during her two-year sailing voyage. These maps depict her travel routes from France to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, and back via Bermuda and the Azores, finally returning to Portugal. But more importantly, they are overlaid with the faces of the people she met along her journey—sailors whose stories of wandering and connection touched her deeply. Each portrait tells a different story of belonging, home, and identity as defined by those who spend their lives on the water.
In this series, Brenta revisits the tradition of ship's illustrators, who once documented the unknown worlds they encountered during long voyages in the Age of Discovery. Anthropological drawings were a way to preserve cultural exchange across vast distances. In practice, Brenta reinterprets this role, using drawing to explore modern relationships, life, and art—capturing not foreign lands, but the complex emotional landscapes we navigate in this fast-paced, fragmented world.
In addition to the portraits, the exhibition also includes short films and a documentary that allow viewers to delve deeper into the concept. Seafarers are among the last true wanderers, living in constant motion, yet connected to the world through the slow, deliberate art of navigation. This project reflects on how, in our globalized world, the concept of home has become fluid. For some, home is not a place but a state of being—found in the rhythm of the ocean, in the shared experiences of those who migrate—a set of drifting roots.
Admission to the museum costs CHF 12 (CHF 7 reduced).

Website
hafenmuseum.ch/veranstaltungen/sonderausstellung-kopie

Where
Verkehrsdrehscheibe Schweiz / Hafenmuseum
Westquaistrasse 2
4057 Basel

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