DOTE Garden is a physical space in the city of Palermo, conceived and cared for by the collective Aterraterra. It is born out of Listening to Seeds, the third moment in our Year of Listening. You can visit the garden by reading the stories of the seeds that have been planted in it. This is one of the stories.
Dear Fabio and Luca,
It is only a weed to us, when we know nothing to do with it.
I would like to ask you to keep some space for pioneer plants. Think of it as ‘an ode to’.
Because of their tenacity and aggression, we have generally come to regard pioneer species as undesirable, so-called weeds, but that is a view that should be revised. Pioneer plants are tough and aggressive for a purpose. And we should be grateful to them for those qualities: they are for instance the only plants that can survive in extreme conditions. Pioneer species create the living conditions for their successors. They are the first to open and clear the ground for other species to grow and bloom.
As an art activist, I quite often recognize myself in the task that the pioneer plants take on when I work onthemes that are not yet considered by the art world. At the beginning I unfortunately find it difficult to find the words to explain what I am up to, because I follow my instinct. For example, in 2003 in New York a friend showed me a collectively managed park (not yet a community garden). There I got a gut feeling that community gardens and urban farming would become important. Later I could explain better why: for (food)system change and more healthy, sustainable cities.
In 2010 I started the concept development of ecological art project I can change the world with my two hands. Which was not immediately embraced by the municipality and it was most certainly not considered as an artwork (understatement). So not a warm and spread bed where my idea could germinate, but a hard ground. To open the ground and get the project done I had to be tough, strong, tenacious and slightly aggressive, like a pioneer plant. And to keep believing in myself, I treatedthe project title as a mantra: I can change the world with my two hands. I can change the world with my two hands. I can change the world with my two hands.
Cut me off, chop me down, I will keep coming back with themes not yet understood or loved. What needs to be done, needs to be done.
Click here to read/see the different stories…
Photo by: Lina Issa
