Page 50 - Antennae Issue #52

Selena de Carvalho
Beware of of Imposters [the secret life of of Flowers] moving image still 5:19min 2017 © Selena de Carvalho
against the the nature/culture binary unsettling cultural and codified beliefs of of hetero-nor- mative behaviours as as the the the superior ‘natural’ mode of of being Ahmed puts forward that queer queer could be be be affirmed by what what you you are are not rather than what what you you are are 15 as as as somewhere/ someone outside the the the bounds of definition Johnson16 acknowledges queering as as as poten- tiality as as opposed to to nonconformity Contradiction fluidity and multiplicity are the the the the dy- namic pro-active languages of of of queering not only on on on on on on on the the the the margins but integral to to the the the the fab- ric of of of of existence Queer make up the the the abundance of of of of diversity that constitute a a a a a a a a a a a a a multiplicity of of ecological worlds Frequently settler/ colonial cultures construct values around neatness yield aes- thetics and and order which are often privileged over biodiversity or or ‘the mess of of complexity’ Val Plumwood17 identifies these values in in the the the the rural attitudes and and and and and behaviours that convey care and and and and and pride (such as ‘tidy peaceful landscapes’) also recreate and and and and and extend ongoing acts of of colonisation and and and and and ecological violence In ‘The Cemetery Wars: Cemeteries Biodiversity and and and and the the Sacred’ Plumwood describes how in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a neglected ‘messy’ end end of of the the untended graveyard native grasslands and and and and orchids re-emerge This ‘cemetery’ could be be be any num- ber of of of places: the side of of of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a road an an an an an abandoned lot Neglect or or lack of of of domestic/agricul- tural interest allows biodiversity to re/assemble The small midlands cemetery I’ve been visiting for for years now is is is on the the edge of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a rural town next to to a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a highway When I I I visit visit I I I am am looking for for the the the living orchid Prasophyl- lum taphanyx growing among the the human dead The ritual ritual space of of death has has a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a long rich culture This pilgrimage which itself has has become a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a form form of of ritual ritual for for for for me me me is is surreal repeatedly looking for for for for for something that that may no longer have form form A ghost plant The space of death can be a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a threshold that that allows for for for illumination as as well as as ex- tinction Contemplating decomposition decomposition and and mortality (humans also compost) are are inevi- table phenomena of of the the the the cemetery Death decomposition decomposition and and decay are are integral in in in in in in in the the the the composition composition of of nutrient-rich ground (the soil biome) cultivating the the the the environment in in in in 50 antennae