to those who will survive…

performance || under construction

My next performance starts from an idea, which I first thought to be utopian and awkward: to create a theatre performance together with plants, where plants are not props, scenography or decoration, but where plants are co-creators, -artists, -directors etc.

During my research around plants I learned that this idea was much less utopian than I had initially thought: an increasing number of scientists on one hand and peoples who live traditionally in tight contact with nature on the other are convinced that plants have consciousness or that they have a spirit.

If I want to create art with plants, than I have to communicate with them. If plants and humans have consciousness, than there has to be a way that the two species can communicate with each other.

Many different peoples around the globe have developed for centuries listen-techniques to communicate with plants. But also modern science, technology and philosophy is studying the subject. Organisations, such as the Embassy of the North Sea, has started to to bring the voices of nature even into courtrooms. So why not trying to make art with plants?!

What would plants want to express trough art? Are they even interested in making art?

Are they interested in making art together with humans?

Some say that art is what distinguishes humans from animals… but what about plants?

During the developing-phase I will make several residencies around specific topics, with artists who have a particular bond with plants.

The first residency was in Ålesund, Norway, at the Festival Høstscena in September 2024. I have worked with sound artist Eirik Havnes around the notion of listening to plants. I will work with artist Christian Hansen during the residency at KAAP, in Bruges, around the notion of watching plants and being “watched” by plants reflecting also what light is for humans and plants. Another residency at workspacebrussels with Erika Sprey, Maria Lucia Cruz Correira, Silvia Mensturini will focus on developing communication practices with plants and reflecting on ethical questions regarding the project to make art together with plants. In a following residency I will meet Sami-artist Gunvor Guttorm and work with her on roots, but also get familiar with the relationship Sami-People have with plants. Finally I will work with a Peruvian artists from the Shipibo People: the focus will be on learning and developing traditional communication practices and developing techniques of creating with plants.

After this I will form an artistic team composed by some of the artists I have met previously, to create the final performance, which will reflect and make the audience revive the whole research- and development-process. The artists together with the plants will try to make a performance together. The reflections, scenes, performative acts which will be created will make emerge all the problematics of the relationship between humans and plants.The creative process will become the performance itself.

But it will also show different ways to overcome the dominant power structure, where humans are on top and plants on the bottom, will show ways how plants and humans can live together in common respect and will widen the awareness of what plants are.