“WE BREATHE EACH OTHER IN AND OUT OF EXISTENCE, ONE MADE BY THE EXHALATION OF THE OTHER.”
– MONICA GAGLIANO (THUS SPOKE THE PLANT, 2018)
plantspeak, 2024 –
Featuring ma kombu kelp (saccharina japonica) to reIMAGINE vegetal dialogues.
HUMANS POSSESS A REMARKABLY LIMITED PERCEPTION, CAPABLE OF DETECTING LESS THAN A TEN-TRILLIONTH OF THE ENTIRE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM (DAVID EAGLEMAN, 2015). WHILE THIS SENSORY LIMITATION SHAPES THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE, ITS BIAS FUELS AN ANTHROPOCENTRIC VIEW OF THE NATURAL WORLD. YET, NUMEROUS SPECIES HAVE EVOLVED MODES OF COMMUNICATION THAT TRANSCEND HUMAN SENSES, IN WHICH PLANTS AND ALGAE ARE NO EXCEPTION. EMERGING RESEARCH ON PLANT COMMUNICATION IS UNCOVERING ANCIENT, EMBODIED LANGUAGES AND MORE-THAN-HUMAN INTELLIGENCES. (THE LANGUAGE OF PLANTS, 2017).
WHAT IF HUMANS COULD PERCEIVE THIS BIOCHEMICAL LANGUAGE THAT FILLS OUR AIR AND BODIES? HOW MIGHT GAINING FLUENCY IN THIS LEXICON RESHAPE OUR UMWELT? HOW MIGHT A NEW SENSORY ATTUNEMENT ENCOURAGE GREATER CO-EVOLUTIONARY CAPACITY AS A SPECIES?
THIS PRACTICE-BASED RESEARCH PROJECT EXPLORES THE EVOLUTIONARY ENTANGLEMENTS BETWEEN PLANTS AND HUMANS, WEAVING TOGETHER MATERIALS-LED EXPERIMENTATION AND EMERGING RESEARCH ON PLANT VOLATILES. MADE FROM BROWN ALGAE KELP, THE COSTUME CONCEPTUALISES VEGETAL LANGUAGES TO HELP AUDIENCES REIMAGINE HUMANITY’S CAPACITY FOR INTERSPECIES DIALOGUES AND A MULTI-SPECIES FUTURE.
MATERIALS | MA KOMBU KELP, LATEX-CELLULOSE PAPER, GAUCHE, AND (NOT VISIBLE) ABACA FIBRE, ALUMINIUM, ELASTIC CORD, PLASTIZOTE, POLYPROPYLENE WEBBING, PLASTIC BUCKLE, VELCRO, AND METAL GROMMETS.
LOCATION | LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
CONCEPT, DESIGN AND REALISATION | JESSIE CURRY
PHOTOGRAPHY | JESSIE CURRY
PERFORMER | OLIVER CHAPMAN
FUNDING | UAL PROCTOR & GAMBLE BETTER LIVES SCHOLARSHIP
PLANTSPEAK, 2024 –
A SHORT FILM OF MY FINAL PROJECT FOR MA COSTUME DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE AT LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION, UNIVERSITY OF ARTS LONDON (LCF, UAL).
PROJECT BACKGROUND: SET AS A SPECULATIVE NATURE DOCUMENTARY, THIS FILM JUXTAPOSES THE HURRIED PACE OF HUMANS AND THE SLOW HIDDEN LIFE OF PLANTS TO ILLUSTRATE THE SPATIOTEMPORAL BARRIERS BETWEEN THEM. FEATURING AN IMMERSIVE COSTUME MADE OF KELP AND CONCEPTUALISED PLANT VOLATILES OF LIGHT, THIS FILM SPECULATES ON HUMAN-PLANT DIALOGUES TO HELP AUDIENCES REIMAGINE OUR CAPACITY FOR INTERSPECIES EXCHANGE AND A RICH MULTI-SPECIES HOME.
DIRECTION AND EDITING: JESSIE CURRY
CINEMATOGRAPHY: NICHOLAS SARGEANT, DAN ADAKPOR, ALEX CAMPBELL, AND LUCHO DAVILIA.
MUSIC: GIBRANA CERVANTES
PERFORMER: OLIVER CHAPMAN