weaving Voices 01.04.2025 issuu - Flipbook - Page 71
This type of activity is accessible and enjoyable for diverse
participants and locations due to its lack of strict control over the
outcome, while it fosters a direct connection between participants
and their natural environments.
In Amsterdam, I introduced this practice to the Weaving Voices
group for the first time. To familiarise ourselves with the process
and the local environment, we began with a neighbourhood walk to
collect plants. This activity allowed for a physical connection with
the natural environment in novel ways, opening up opportunities
to explore various aspects of plant stories – such as their medicinal
uses, distributions, cultivation worldwide and colonial histories. For
instance, participants on urban walks are often surprised by the
abundance of accessible plants. The diversity of cultivated plants in
cities often makes it easier to find a wide variety suitable for printing
compared to what can be found in European forests. Human histories
and futures are deeply intertwined with plants for reasons as
fundamental as our reliance on them for oxygen, food and medicine.
In my practice, I enjoy exploring these plant relationships with
participants, as they reflect our connections with the world around
us.
The first individual botanical printing experiments on paper by the Weaving Voices group, Bureau Postjesweg, in Amsterdam, April 2023.
As we worked collectively on our own pieces in Amsterdam, it
became apparent that each individual outcome carried a distinct
personal touch, despite everyone following the exact same
instructions and using the same plants. This highlights another
dimension that material practices bring to communal endeavours.
Creating a design as simple as arranging plants on paper involves
making decisions, often unconscious, that reflect our individual
handwriting. By engaging in material practices collectively, we can
become aware of our unique differences, providing the opportunity
to consciously combine our unique styles across multiple areas within
collective research.
In Sweden we continued the exploration of possibilities of dyeing
and printing with plants from the forests and started to include
moments of singing while collecting plants and stirring the dye pots.
This created a playful blend of practices inspired by our unfolding
relationship with the Swedish forest.
Dye pot with bundles to create prints with Swedish forest plants on second-hand clothes, Unnaryd, June 2023.
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