<div dir="ltr">A warm hello to everyone!<div><br></div><div>My name is Špela Petrič. I'm a biologist who was too curious about the strings attached to science to stay and have been wandering in the realm of art to see if living systems shine differently through the multitude of optic systems we could (but don't necessarily choose to) employ. </div><div><br></div><div>Albeit they were never particularly my cup of tea, I've been (almost coincidentally - ha, should I admit to pragmatism?) forcing myself onto plants and abusing them at workshops, in artworks and on my window sill for several years. It seemed only fair I should lay bare my neck, face my schizoid humanity and commit to the quixotic task of confronting vegetal otherness.</div><div><br></div><div>And here I am, two years later, gleefully reading this thread that in a few email exchanges voices the evident (but far from obvious) disconcerted inflections of (human)V(plant).</div><div><br></div><div>When it comes to overcoming anthropocentrism, especially in regards to plant life where a true empathic relationship is questionable (see Marder, <a href="http://www.michaelmarder.org/app/download/5864710661/M.Marder.Life.of.Plants.Empathy.pdf?t=1431562863">The Life of Plants and the Limits of Empathy</a>), it seems that are we must accept this natural sciences joke: "Theoretically is should be possible to achieve it in practice, but practically it holds true only in theory." </div><div><br></div><div>I therefore think that the critique of shortcomings in such artistic endeavours is precisely what we should fall upon when defining the ethical grounds for the relationship to the non-human Other. Through this questioning it becomes apparent that, while an extremely effective blow the the Western cosmology, we are nevertheless embedded in it. Exercises in interface-based plant-to-human experiences effectively (through affect) rattle our curious assumption that reality is somehow objective, somehow "out there", while simultaneously (mis)lead us to conclude that time is all we need to understand "what it is like to be a plant".</div><div><br></div><div>That said, I also believe that only when working with/growing/observing plants over a longer period of time does this alien group of living beings begin to authentically displaces our perception of them -- and, consequently, of ourselves. I wonder if an observer/visitor served with the output of projects built on not only a huge amount of scientific understanding, but also on the utter commitment of the artist, ever truly grasps the herculean patience and meekness involved in the dance of agency which ultimately becomes a display of the (un)hidden zoe (and bios :) of plant life...</div><div><br></div><div>Lastly, to give my answer to Graham on the topic of technological interfaces: I think these technological translations are user-friendly and might even be condemned as superficial (ultimately we are much more accustomed connecting to technology than to plants, which might be understood as undermining the purpose), but one shouldn't overlook the importance of these works as persistent, perhaps even programmatic explorations of the embodiment of critical posthumanism, whose ideals are hence tested in practice. Also, by undergoing the lengthy process of plant-imbued artwork manifestation, the artists become sensitised to the Other in a way that permanently changes their vantage point, themselves becoming a breeding ground for an adjacent future not possible without such experiences.</div><div><br></div><div>Best,</div><div>Špela</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">2015-06-07 2:09 GMT+02:00 Graham Teeple <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:grahamteeple@gmail.com" target="_blank">grahamteeple@gmail.com</a>></span>:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------<br>
Wow! What a wonderful discussion to find.<br>
I am also sorry to be joining in so late.<br>
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Patrick and Murat - your discussion about the world beyond humans is one I love and fear thinking about.<br>
Projects like these are such great tools for testing the limits/limitations.<br>
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My mind has been spiralling into the human, interspecies, and cyborg dimensions of these projects.<br>
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I am a gardener and curator. I am familiar with Yi and Jasmeen's work in its first iteration presented at Grow Op 2015 this spring, which I helped organize.<br>
Jo - I have heard about your project, and it is wonderful to read these details and anecdotes.<br>
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To Yi and Jo:<br>
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I'm thinking about how human technology is often an essential collaborator when it comes to human-plant connections.<br>
Leaving plants to the side for a moment, I'm wondering how would you describe the connection between participants and the technology you are using in these projects?<br>
Does it feel like an easier, or maybe natural, way to connect with others? Or maybe it presents its own perceptual challenges to participants?<br>
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And Jo - I'm wondering if you could speak about how the plants might have responded to THEIR intimate connection with human technology. Hard to say, I know, but have you noticed changes in the plants after connecting or disconnecting them?<br>
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Thank so much for all your comments.<br>
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Graham<br>
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