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Micro-Landscapes of the Anthropocene

Re-Emerging Biophilic Revolution

I was very fascinated in addressing, and exploring the plant blindness phenomenon administered by plant worlds, particularly observing how this blindness continues to contaminate humans in a highly technological era. The interdependence between the humanities, science and non-human life suggests that the conversation regarding plant blindness continuously faces challenges posed by the Anthropocene biosphere which we inhabit. Much like many, I was concerned by this and reviewed that due to the advancing developments of human technology that inhabit our land, our awareness of plant life is disintegrating rapidly. Human occupation of the land has curated a shift in connections to the ecological framework. Living in such rich intraurban cities that ‘present nature’ in confined settings such as botanical gardens or zoos, ‘bubble wraps’ our generation, which encourages them to grow up within ‘nature deficit’ atmospheres reducing intimate contact with the non-human.

This demographic shift where humans see greenery merely as a wallpaper rather than appreciating the detail of plant life by interacting with them (not just expecting a scientific use from them) leads me to address how humans explore some degree of ecophobia rather than progressing towards a biophilic life approach. Brought on by the studies of Edward Wilson (1984), the biophilia hypothesis encompasses ecological thought which is concerned with the urge to affiliate with other forms of life and seek connections with nature. And as our connection to nature is replaced by technology, our biophilic feelings decay, yet we attempt to bubble wrap them in our cultural systems such as the nature-based attractions mentioned earlier. The point to be made here is that biophilia has transmitted whilst civilization has been evolving, and as such, we must attempt to defy this inbuilt biophobia as we only exist through the mediated entities provided to us by nature.

Tash

Radmore, D. 2004, Examination of The Biophilia Hypothesis and its implications for Mental Health, pp1-6

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Critical Reflection: Natalie and Simonn By Simonn Nyguyen and Natalie Cheung

Arts3050 Critical reflections: Plant Worlds

The interconnectivity of our world is alike a plant, ever growing, adapting and supporting the elements around them. Human existence is a space shared and supported by the biological world of nature. Within the world of plants, perceptions play an integral role in their place in society. From mere backdrops of a cityscape to the freshly maintained conscious garden lawn.

The essence of the plant world was explored through creative dissections of close readings, theoretical research, short film making and a photo essay. These tasks have prompted a reimagining of the human space and its shared existence in the world of plants. Through the main concept of plant blindness, our perceptions of plants grew from mere backgrounds to our human world to one in which explores the cyclical symbiotic nature of plants, human, animal all those in-between.

The article ‘Plant Blindness’ by Rosetta Elkin advocates for plant awareness through an empathetic and critical approach. Elkin argues that through the rapid progress of the Anthropocene age, the integral role of plants beyond the role of garden lawn has been forgotten. Thus in the modern age, plant blindness is a concept derived from the inability to envision plants beyond stigmatised and forgotten means. Similarly, ‘Seeing Green’ by Monica Gagliano argues that modern society has inherited plant blindness, categorising the natural world as a competitive and hierarchal order. Yet as Gagliano argues, the natural world is one in which co-exists through each other. In essence there is a “myopia” reinforced by the misuse of language such as survival of the fittest. When viewed through a reimagined lens, we can see that plants form a network of survival with each other, trees protecting ground plants from heavy rains and flowers providing growth and seeding. The idea of plant blindness is explored through creative mediums within Courtney Ryans review of artist Vaughn Bell in “playing with plants”. Bell’s artworks as Ryan conceptualises reconsiders the way in which humans and plants are linked. While plants in the urban sphere have been reduced to nothing but backdrops, Bell’s artworks intertwines this concept by putting humans in portable biospheres encapsulating their head and ‘portable’ lawns planted in discarded shopping trollies. This visualisation of plant blindness as Ryan observes is one that confronts the underbelly of our world. In ‘Flower Tuscany’ by D.H Lawrence, we were provided with a poetic and vivid illustration of the floral world. This text furthered the concept of plant blindness through anti plant blindness in which Lawrence delves into the beauty and historical memories left through the imprint of Tuscany’s natural world. Similarly the close reading of Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf also provided a vivid world of floral and gardens. This short novel however utilised the envisioned beauty of botanical plant life as a contrast and comparison against the on goings of the human characters. In essence, through the plotless on goings of the human world, Woolf is able to encasptulate the liminalities of human and plant worlds that coexist within each other.

It is through these texts and creatively dissecting through them did we reconsider our space within the world. The issue of plant blindness is inescapable as while even through an awareness of this concept, the conditioned surroundings of the human world pushes forward this hierarchy. Anti-blindness and an appreciation for the coexisting nature of plants is a limited idea as once removed from the vivid world of floral and greenery, blindness reoccurs within the urban sphere of technology and industrialisation. As such we maintained a strong conscious effort to push forward both a negative and positive reimagining of the plant world. Inspired by the beauty of Kew Gardens and Flower of Tuscany, we utilised concepts of beauty, colours and vivid imagery to establish a sense of self awareness and ‘anti blindness’. However through other theoretical works, the idea of plant blindness is one in which plagues human perceptions through the conditioning of human superiority in the hierarchy of life. As such aspects of the project reminds the audience of their blindness to the plant world once removed from contained vivid floral gardens and green parks and they enter their mundane urban spheres. In conclusion, the overall concepts push forward was one of balance through an exploration of appreciation and blindness of the plant world. Our perceptions overall have changed through planning and executing this project in which plants have been reconceptualised within our minds to one equal to us. In essence, we thank the plant world and their ability to maintain life even through our blindness.