Evolutionary Gardens and Performative Habitats

Egle Oddo

My interest for plant seeds dates back to my early experiments during the '80, when I collected seeds in urban and rural contexts and translocated them in new habitats. Since then my work has taken different directions. At present I create public art works by installing living sculptures which I denominate as evolutionary gardens. The process behind this practice went through a long transformation recently enriched by the contribution of art curators with whom I engage in long term dialogue. This article explores the process of research between 2007-2017, it describes how I become reflective about my viewing and doing, how I progressively opened the work to multiple influences, and how this has generated a better integrative approach leaning towards the complexity of cognitive structures. Finally I asked a set of questions to the curators who worked with me, with the aim to offer the reader a direct view on the diverse approaches intertwined with my practice.

EVOLUTIONARY GARDENS AND PERFORMATIVE HABITATS

From Production to Action: Extracts from an Artist's Diary and Dialogues

Contributions by curators:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Basak Senova, art critic Lori Adragna, PhD. art historian Maria Stella Bottai, anthropologist Lea Vene, and Master of Political Science Marita Muukkonen.

My interest for plant seeds dates back to my ante litteram works during the 80's, possibly associated with a form of experimental botanical interest. I used to collect seeds of certain trees in order to plant them by inserting soil and seed in the hollow trunk of other species. In some cases, rarely, the assemblages created by the two living plants were of haunting beauty, similar to a miracle of coexistence.

Since then my work has taken different directions. In the last decades, I have been dedicated to creating living sculptures by installing evolutionary gardens^[1] that function as public art works. I plant seeds of wild species and cultivars together, fading the demarcation line between sites for agriculture, untamed soil, and urban green areas. These gardens become living seed banks, safety zones for biodiversity, allowing the most vulnerable species to thrive.

This process took several years to form, and went through a long transformation where the typical aims of fine art production progressively were left behind, giving space to valorization of immaterial heritage and protection of commons. With an integrative approach, I created an interdisciplinary process called performative habitats,^[2] by making associations between specific cultural, economic, ecologic and anthropological aspects. This article explores the process of research specifically by analyzing my artistic practice between 2007-2017.

>>>

Tip

Tip