Page 166 - Antennae Issue #52

Melissa Oresky
Finder p 8 Artist’s Book Three-color silkscreen 2020 © Melissa Oresky
of of of of archival archival boxes the the the mustard of of of of archival archival folders and and the the the dark blues and and purples of of of of pen ink as as one of of of of two dominant color color motifs throughout Although these colors sometimes serve as as background for the the the the prints they are never mere backdrop These visual references to to to to the the the material and and institutional repositories of knowledge shift from from from field to to to to form and and and and from from from foreground to to to to background through regular inversions demanding that the materials and and and and institutions from from from which we produce certain certain kinds of of of of of knowledge and and and and and tell certain certain types of of of of of stories stories be a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a part of of of of of those stories stories echoing demands from scholars of of of of of of Native peoples and and and and people people of of of of of of African descent to to to explic- itly discuss the the the the the processes of of of archival formation and and and the the the the the forced silences they pro- duce rather than allow them to become unheard context in in complete-feeling tales 23 Given the the the the the herbarium’s current state of of of precarity the the the the the situated materially embodied aspects of of of of these institutional spaces also create an an atmosphere of of of of obsolescence alongside the the the the the powerful seduction of of of of of authoritative knowledge These colors and materials make the the the the feeling of of of the the the the archive—the conjunction of of of past epistemological power and present decay—palpable Finder explicitly explores the the the the historical context behind the the the the creation of of of the the the the Vasey Herbarium In one set of of of prints the the the the the the the arrowlike bodies of of of Polypodium and ar- rows from Fern Finder direct the the the the viewer across the the the the two pages To the the the the left large Poly- podium shapes are arranged in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a roughly circular form The visible presence of of sori (clusters of of of spore cases housing the the cells which ferns use in in in in in sexual reproduction) and and the the the the inclusion of of of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a small Polypodium form form appearing to grow from a a a a a a a a a a a a a a larger form form at the the the the the middle right playfully evoke cycles cycles of of of of reproduction and and the the the the the cyclical temporality of of of seasonal cycles cycles in in particular places 24 On the the the the next page the the the the character of of of direction- ality and and and its implied geographies and and and temporalities begin to to to change A large frond outlined in in in in in blue and and and fluorescent yellow appears to to to point to to to a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a clearly legible specimen marker announcing that this Polypodium vulgare (Common polypody) was collected during “Powell’s Colorado Exploring Expedition ” This is is is the most sparsely populated page in in in in in in Finder with with relatively diminutive fern forms arranged with with directional arrows to to to form form a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a meandering almost riparian path through mostly blank space populated only by by bits of visual debris 25 The ferns appear to to to to be exploring “untouched” and and and “un- known” wilderness rhetoric used by by both Powell and and and and his his allies alongside claims that such lands constituted blank space to to to to garner support for his his travels and and and and the the colonial project to to to follow in in fin in their wake and and and and that has since been deployed regularly to to to define the the the the boundaries between nature and and humanity in in fin in in in North American environmental- ism 26 In this image the the the the the fern life cycle depicted in in in in in in in Fern Finder is is is broken Rather than “the wordless voice of of longing longing that that resonates within us the the the the the the longing longing to to continue to to participate in in in in in in the the the the the the sacred life of of of the the the the the the world” that that for Kimmerer animates annual cycles embedded in in place the the the the the attenuated circle of of of reproduction here is is the the the the the colonial drive to expand and and and conquer the the the the manifestation of of unquenchable want and and and disastrous positive feedback loops that she identifies with the the the Anishinaabe monster Windigo 27 Setting this scene of of plant exploration atop the the the the mustard hue of of an an archival folder carries a a a a a a a a a a a a warning about how we define the the the the unknown when depending upon the the the the knowledge-keeping technologies of the the the the archive And yet by centering the the the the ferns themselves another reading becomes pos- sible Plants engage in in in in in in in in migration taking up residence in in in in in in in in new spaces in in in in in in in in response to to to climatic climatic shifts shifts disturbances and other factors Increasingly in in in in in in in fin a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a world shaped by climatic climatic shifts shifts prompting plants to to to to move move themselves themselves or or or or as as they find themselves themselves moved through human human and novel other-than-human animal factors we might begin to to to to question ideas of of plants rooted in in in in place 28 It is is is possible to to to to render plant plant move- ment in in in in in colonialist terms to to to to speak of of of “invasion” and “pioneer colonists ”29 And yet we might also as as as as Kimmerer does treat succession as as as as a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a process process of of healing to to imagine the fern as as as finder not seeking domination but inaugurating a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a process process by which mov- ing ing ing ing ing plants begin to to to to bring life back to to to to “a desolate place that everyone wanted to to to to cover in in in in in garbage ” ” ” This too is is “pioneering ” ” ” The archive and and the the the herbarium present many choices to to to to follow follow follow the the the path path “soft and and green with new grass” or or to to to to follow follow follow the the the course “scorched black hard ” ” How Kimmerer asks do we know which path path to to to follow follow follow “how
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