“And the land lay there, expectant…”
– Wladysław Reymont, The Peasants: Spring
f[a.l.l.o.w]
Where fallow may imply a period when nothing seems to happen, or in the case of a field, when it is left dormant to restore its fertility, within the structure of the word itself, is fall, all, low and importantly allow.
What may be allowed to come forward during periods of fallow — of rest, dormancy, quiet?
On daily walks to the field down the lane in Zaczernie, Poland, I witnessed growth from mid-April’s last dusting of snow to the emergence of a plethora of botanicals —- Urtica dioica / common nettle, Taraxacum officinale / dandelion, Plantago lanceolata / ribwort plantain, Ajuga/ bugle, Galium / bedstraw, Setaria viridis / green foxtail grass, Alopercurus pratensis / meadow foxtail grass, Lamium galeobdolon / yellow archangel Dead-nettle, Geranium pusillum / crane’s-bill geranium, Trifolium pratense / Red clover, Vicia sativa / vetch, Tanacetum vulgare / tansy, Geranium maculatum / wild geranium, Ranunculus acris / meadow buttercup — to name just a few. Plants that are as much medicine as much as they may be considered weeds, plants that my ancestors collected, the flowers and leaves used for rituals and for food.
The land and its bounty I observed closely, picking samples, painting their portraits — with each brush stroke, a new insight and connection.
Further reflections on place and process can be read here
Two years following the initial botanical paintings, the collection developed into book works where blotting over letters, with locally gleaned wild clay, echoes my earlier works in which I consider language and the instinct towards meaning through gesture and mark making. While reformatting the texts by covering some words and giving emphasis to other words, I thought about censorship in communication and of stories and concepts that get forgotten or replaced over time. Many of these books dating from 1929 – 1988 present geological and scientific ideas that describe a different worldview from current perspectives. More about the inspiration and evolution of this work continues here
My interpretations highlight relationship with the earth through the extracted phrases including: “ziemia – to miejsce gdzie znajduje się życie” (earth – is the place where life is found) paired with gallium / bedstraw, do bliższego zapoznania się (to get to know each other better) alongside my painting of two strands of Tanacetum vulgare/common tansy and źródło materiału energetycznego (source of energetic material) with Taraxacum officinale / common dandelion on the right folio.
From Spojrzenie Na Sztuke, (A Look at Art, by Andrzej Osęka, “potrzeba kontemplacji, glębokie umiłowanie natury, wiara, że we wszystkich jej przejawach, w każdym kamieniu, korzeniu — tkwią prawdy wcielające całą mądrość przyrody” (the need for contemplation, a deep love of nature, the belief that in all its manifestations, in every stone, every root – there are truths embodying the entire wisdom of nature) articulated a poignant viewpoint that resonantly underlies my motivations.
