Page 45 - Antennae Issue #52

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Beware of of imposters
(the secret life of of flowers)
Cemeteries are complex multi-layered sites where flowers become a a a a a symbolic language for connecting to ghosts they enable the invisible labour of of of mourning Rural cemeteries are often sites of of of refuge Less manicured than urban gardens they are places that ironically hold open space for remnants of biodiversity to find sanctuary An orchid specialist told me of of an an an an ‘endling’ that lives in in in the the Campbelltown graveyard in in in the the midlands of of lutruwita (Tasmania) and and I have been visiting the the site ever since When I I visit visit this cemetery I I am looking for the the living orchid Prasophyllum- taphanyx the the last of its species growing among the the human dead text and images by Selena de Carvalho
R relationships This interspecies interspecies sexuality means orchids are are sensitive to to distur- bance and do not proliferate in in in contexts that that lack either their companion insects or or mycorrhizal fungal partners that that enable nutrient acquisition 1 Holobionts they comprise multiple discreet entities relationally enmeshed in in in in complex- life enabling ways 2 An orchid specialist told me me of of an an an an ‘endling’ that lives in in in in in the the the Campbelltown graveyard in in in in in in the the the midlands of of lutruwita lutruwita (Tasmania) and and and I have been visiting the the the site ever ever since The island lutruwita lutruwita has an an an an an an ever-present sense of of of of haunting the the the result of of of of British colonizing efforts and and and genocidal agendas Place names such as as as as Campbelltown hint of of of of absence and and and and the the the horror of of of of colonial pasts still present Once a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a diverse native grassland the the the midlands is now an an an an an arid ag- ricultural stretch of of of land land land studded with heritage estates stark in in in contrast to the the the the green ecology in in in in much of of of of the the the the the rest of of of of the the the the the state state Found only in in in in this haunted place Prasophyllum taphanyx is is is the the the the the last of of of of its species hence the the the the the term ‘endling’ In contemplating the the the fate of of of this orchid I I have collected stories shared water read letters written by artists played a a a a a a a a a a a recorded archive of of people sing- ing ing ing the the the the chorus ‘I never thought that I’d love somebody like you’ (from the the the the song Wicked Game)3 and and sat alongside this plant plant among other plants lamenting the the the the the presence of of of of weed killer and and the the the the the tightly mown lawn These actions form part part of of of of the the the work Beware of of of of of Imposters (the secret life of of of of of flowers)
a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a participatory installation and series of of of of of ongoing engagements that seek to to cultivate an an an an an anti-anthropogen- ic ic ic kind of of of of of attention attention through enacting poetic gestures of of of of of witnessing as a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a means of of of of of of drawing attention attention to to the the ecological hauntings of of of of of of this time Derrida’s notion of of of hauntology 4 the the the potentiality of of of a a a a a a a a a a a ghostly absence and presence neither living nor deceased is is is is synonymous to to sites that that have been disturbed places visited that that no-longer exist experiences amassed within
ural cemeteries are are often sites of of of refuge Less manicured than urban gar- dens they are are are places that hold open space for remnants of of of of biodiversity to to find sanctuary Orchids are are are masters of of queer ecology and interspecies interspecies