Seeds of change
Maria Thereza Alves
September 6th - September 23rd, 2023
Michel Rein, Paris /1st floor
Installation views
About
Seeds of Change is an investigation based on original research of ballast flora in the port cities of Europe. Projects have been developed for Marseilles, Reposaari, Dunkirk, Exeter and Topsham, Liverpool and Bristol. Material such as stones, earth, sand, wood, bricks and whatever else was economically expedient was used as ballast to stabilize merchant sailing ships according to the weight of the cargo. Upon arrival in port, the ballast was unloaded, carrying with it seeds native to the area where it had been collected. The source of these seeds can be any of the ports and regions (and their regional trading partners) involved in trade with Europe.
The botanist, Dr. Heli Jutila, an expert on ballast flora writes, ?Although seeds seem to be dead, they are in fact alive and can remain vital in soil for decades, and even hundreds of years in a state of dormancy.? Seeds contained in ballast soil may germinate and grow, potentially bearing witness to a far more complex narrative of world history than is usually presented by orthodox accounts.
Seeds of Change does not duplicate scientific work within an ?art? context but rather contributes with original research by locating historical ballast sites and ballast flora. Local archives are first researched for evidence and then ballast sites are located with the aid of historical map references. From these sites, samples of earth are taken and potted and seeds germinate.
Although they have the potential to alter our notions of the identity of place as belonging to a defined bioregion, the historical importance of these seeds is rarely acknowledged. The Seeds of Change project is, therefore, designed to question those discourses that define the geographical and ?natural? history of place: At what moment do seeds become ?native?? What are the socio- political histories of place that determine the framework of belonging?
If official accounts of history fail to account for, and even work to erase local knowledge and experiences, by contrast, art has the potential to reclaim such narratives to contemporary social realities.
