Upskilling in the art of conversation, with plants

Context

Research period for www.transcontinentalgarden.net and an investigation into content, form, and methodology.

History of plant life has direct correlations with human development, social history and behaviour including evolutionary biology, ethnobotany and social and political behaviour.

Given the significant symbiosis humans have with plant life it’s surprising that scientific research in this area is only just beginnning to evolve in recent years (comparative to the speed and depth of other scientific disciplines). However botany was only established or recognised as a formal science in the 1800’s. In the past 10 years more scientific research, information and evidence is emerging on plant physiology, adaptive behaviour and signalling, and new strands of specialist research have been established such as plant neurobiology.

I’ve been intrigued by the way gardeners often anthropomorphise plants to rationalise successful gardening methodologies and one of these manifestations - the common compulsion and practice of people talking to plants due to its perceived benefits in improvement in plant health. Also by the phenomenon where people experience endorphin increase whilst and after gardening.

Although the affect of human acoustics and attention on plants is considered a pseudoscience. I’m interested in the relationship between current empirical evidence of plant signalling and adaptive behaviour and the folklore of practices such as talking to plants.

The idea of the evolution of “science” in itself is a point of interest - in that over time it often disproves itself. More relevant to this project, with regard to recent ‘discoveries’ in plant signalling, that may give evidence to human intuitive knowledge or information regarded as myth. Meanwhile I have been working in arts organisations where cultural understanding and reconciliation has been a focus in human to human communication but no attention given to the physical environment or landscape which also plays a role to communicate these intentions or the parallels that might be taking place in plant cultivation in the same context.

The line of enquiry I am following essentially proposes that recent scientific research into plant signalling may in time lead to scientific evidence to support ancient human intuition and knowledge of human – plant relationships. At the same time the research aims to highlight human/plant relationships in social behaviour and comment on cultural metaphors in human arts such as gardening.

To do this the project aims to mix differing discipline approaches to create an eclectic story and group actions/experiences. In so doing, it aims to bring together people from different disciplines (or non-disciplines) to reflect on and pool knowledge on plant signalling and human / plant communicative relationships.

Specifically my research traces more recent (17th C onward) history of women’s relationship with plants and its relationship with socio-political action for the rights of women (education, professional, sexual and more). In the context that 17th Century western women were criticised for expressing sexuality and reproductive knowledge through botany and botanical art.

One of the questions that the project asks is: What is dangerous for women to say through plants today?

Problem/Aim

Expected outcomes of the longer term research is to create a live performance installation with a realtime conversation between humans and plants in two or more locations. To engage audiences from all walks of life for this event. To find alternate languages to bring the knowledge of plant signalling to the non-scientific world. To allow space for alternate ways of thinking through natural phenomenon to reflect on human social and political behaviour including our experience of time and change action. To reflect on alternate narratives of the role of humans in the plantae world. To bring scientists, non-scientists, artists and non-artists together in conversation on these concepts. For the research period at fo.am to gain more background knowledge of trans-discipline approaches to the concepts across strands of the project.

Methods

Having come to fo.am in the dead of winter whilst the collective was on holiday or working in warmer climes, I took advantage of the library here and the space to think.

General research was across discipline and form (literary, video, url, human conversation). Meet with artists/scientists working with plants: Bartaku, Collect personal histories of people and plants: Maja Kuzmanovic Research on various human plant relationships in history: Research overview in plant signalling: Research into human perception: Devising lo-fi tactile experiences for humans to perceive plant signalling and give or receive signals: Edible Perfumes, Chlorophyll Printing Devising artistic material or environments for humans to assist an understanding of possible relationship futures:

Solution/Results

Information research Sensory Plant signalling Human perception and the senses

Historic Humans and the early use of intuition, trial and error in establishing the roles of plants as friend or foe. Symbology of specific plants based on the Doctrine of Association The shift of human dominating sense from scent to sight over time through the age of enlightenment and its parellels with changes in ecological relationship. The role of women in the advancement of the science of botany through the 17th and 18th Centuries in Western Europe and the United Kingdom. The role of plants as women’s status and expression advanced - including sexual education and expression through botanic watercolours and poetry through 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries in Western Europe and the United Kingdom.

Artistic research – self proposed Finding a structure for approach – The Art of Conversation Establishing common gound – what are our shared histories? Evolutionary, social and personal. Empathy Forms and styles of communication How humans can give and receive (or perceive) alternative signals

Practical Chlorophyl printing on leaves The mirror box for human physical empathy Edible perfumes

Continuation practice (pre-fo.am) of creating audio meditations for the luminous green to infiltrate the human mind.

Post Presentation Discussion Suggestion to read the Botany of Desire regarding the alternative view that humans are in the control of plants in the same ways as other pollinators such as insects, birds and marsupials.

Chlorophyl printing – needs more controlled environment – specific stronger lights (red and blue colour specific) – suggest research details from hydroponic specialists; and more visibly responsive leaves – specific plants have higher visible chlorophyll activity level.

Mirror box set up needs uniform colour and texture matching for the box and the table it sits on. Requires human physical interaction to stimulate touch for the particpant’s brain to associate touch with an alternative (inanimate) limb. Further discussion at Neuroscience Week in London suggested that to substitute a virtual limb that is not already present in the box will require very incremental blending with a live feed image of the participants limb until it is totally replaced. There is data available on time increments relating to other visual therapies.

Reference artists Ackroyd and Harvey (UK) who work with chlorophyl printing on grass on a large scale. Future The research continues in 2013 with attendance at meet up with Genspace Bio hackers and Observatory Gallery curators in Austin Texas USA, a Slime Mould workshop by Heather Barnett in March 2013 New York, the Plant Signalling Conference July 2013 in Vancouver, research of 17th-18thC botany texts at the Wellcome Library in London, residencies at Point B in New York, symbioticA in Perth Western Australia, and with artist collaborators at Bundanon Trust NSW.

References

• Botany Sexuality and Women’s Writing 17th – 18thC, Samantha George • What A Plant Knows, an overview of information on recognised signalling methods in plants • Hildegard von Bingen • Aroma • Circus performer and grass scuplture Cirque d’Ici

• literature used in the research (books, magazines, journals, URLs…) • media used in the research (film, audiovisual media, photographs…) • visual/sonic/tactile material generated in the research to be archived at FoAM