POSTCARD II (SW)
Another section in the ‘Plants Worlds’ chapter through which the concept of an eco-skeleton structuring everyday human life can be refined and developed, is Natalie Cheung and Simonn Nguyen’s correlation of the interconnectivity of the plant world to the social sphere of humanity. Utilising the work of Australian theorist Monica Gagliano, Cheung, et al. highlight how anthropocentric perspectives of the world can be conceived as a symbolic myopia, thereby emphasising the impetus for a reimagined lens that notes the coexistence of the human and non-human. Cheung, et al.’s theory of human experience being a shared space that is supported by elements of the natural environment reflects my idea of an eco-skeleton that is constantly growing, adapting and supporting our engagement with the material world. For example, Cheung, et al.’s depiction of a network of survival and communication between the human and plant world is hinted at in my close reading of British author Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse, which showcases the manner in which natural elements – such as wood and metal – structure the experiences and visions of humanity through their reincarnation as pieces of furniture.
Moreover, a comparative analysis of my deconstructive approach to Woolf’s To the Lighthouse with Cheung, et al.’s critical reflection is enhanced by American academic Brian Massumi’s theory of ontopower, which asserts a “changing ecology of powers.” (Mateus, 2017, p. 1043) Massumi’s illustration of systematic reorganisations of social power in favour of pre-emption can be employed to demonstrate how the eco-skeleton actively inhibits humanity’s capitalist inclination to react and create vis-à-vis materiality. This perspective is reiterated by Canadian forest ecology scholar Suzanne Simard’s 1997 concept of the “wood wide web,” which highlights intra-active exchanges between natural entities that effectively relegate humanity as a peripheral, marginal force in the scheme of socio-cultural activity. This idea revolves around the underground mycorrhizal networks and channels through which individual plants transfer a plethora of resources, nutrients and minerals. Simard’s decision to research the ways in which papier birch and Douglas fir trees exchange carbon via the fungi on their roots, resulting in her observation of the existence of various forms of “cooperation” between individuals of the plant world. (Fig. 1) Furthermore, Dutch professor Franciska de Vries’ claim that mycorrhizal networks are potentially “socialist” in their scope (Yong, 2016) through their emphasis on teamwork posits a direct retaliation against the anthropocentric capitalist regime of competition and incessant production, thereby demonstrating how the external sphere of the plant world transcends into an eco-skeleton that actively suppresses, critiques and restructures human activity and experience.
REFERENCES
Yong, E. (2016, April 14). The Wood Wide Web. The Atlantic, Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/04/the-wood-wide-web/478224/
Mateus, S. [Review of the book Ontopower: War, Powers, and the State of Perception by B. Massumi]. International Journal of Communication, 11(2017), 1043-1046.
IMAGE LIST
Figure 1
[online image of mycorrhizal networks]. (2018). Retrieved from https://albertonrecord.co.za/182186/enviro-monday-trees-talk-via-wood-wide-web/
SW.