Join 2022 RAIR resident alum Narendra Haynes for Rooted Kin: Plant Portraiture in the Meadow, a conversation and drawing workshop at RAIR.
In this “century of biology" the scientific understanding of non-human life is rapidly changing. Consciousness and intelligence can no longer be considered exclusively human traits as a growing number of species are revealed to possess the biology and behavior of sentient, self-aware beings. In the work of Susan Simard, even trees are shown to communicate and share resources in quite sophisticated ways. Yet this is not so much an advance in scientific knowledge as a confirmation of the wisdom held by indigenous cultures and value systems - namely that all life is animate, intelligent, and deserving of respect. But, even though our scientific understanding is evolving, we still live in an extractive economy that considers non-human life to be a mere resource, existing for the sole purpose of human exploitation.We have granted corporations the status and rights of “persons” while animals, plants, and ecosystems are still legally considered property. What can we do to transform this paradigm of relentless exploitation that is driving us to ecological disaster?
This workshop will examine these issues through informed conversation and creative expression. We will begin with a discussion of some of the cultural, legal and intellectual movements that are working to change our relationship to the natural world. Then, utilizing the lens of portraiture, we will form personal connections with the rooted life that exists in the meadow at RAIR. Through immersion and close observation exercises and various modes of verbal and visual expression, We will attune ourselves to the abundance of unique life surrounding us, discovering the personalities and inner lives of wild grasses, flowers, shrubs, and other local inhabitants.
**Come prepared to be outdoors and embrace the weather conditions of the day.**
Narendra Haynes is an interdisciplinary artist based in Philadelphia. Born in Detroit Michigan (1985), he graduated from the BFA program at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. He received his MFA from The University of Pennsylvania, where he was also awarded a Certificate in Emerging Design and Research, and served as a Graduate Lecturer at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia.