Lately #1: Dirt, Flowers, Earth
Hey, here are three things I saw and read this week that I thought I'd pass along. Hope you enjoy them :)
I was taken aback by the complexity of Rena Detrixhe's artworks. They read as rugs at first glance, but are made of dirt into which she stamps intricate patterns with modified shoe soles. They make me think about the earth under our feet, and the many ways we've separated ourselves from it. With their extravagant designs, her pieces are pretty, but she draws attention to the straightforward beauty of the earth with her use of deep umber dirt that seems to glow.
I'm late to Rebecca Solnit, but I'm glad I finally found my way to her. I zipped through her newest book, Orwell's Roses, which begins as an investigation into the garden Orwell kept at a rented cottage in a small English village. Solnit wonders about a man who spent so much time thinking about the threats of fascism, deep injustices, and the darkest impulses of humanity taking the time to plant flowers in his garden. This serves as the binding thread throughout a book that looks at Colombia's rose factories, the relationship between colonialism and gardens, climate change, the origin of the socialist rose symbol--the list goes on. Ultimately though, it's very much a book that considers the role of beauty and the seemingly frivolous in maintaining the strength to face down all of those ugly things that Orwell remained committed to fighting throughout his short life.
There's a piece in this week's New Yorker about "The Eco-Protestors Who Live in Tunnels" that's a worthwhile read, both for the depictions of a group of people who are so deeply committed to protecting old growth forests in England and for the understanding it provides of the governmental apparatus designed to dispel the protesters. There's brief mention of an upcoming vote in England that would severely limit the rights of protesters, making it difficult for them to gather. Orwellian indeed.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week.
S