Politics of Plants. Preliminary Questions

On 5 May, which marks the solar term “Beginning of Summer” (⽴夏), Natasha Myers and Zheng Bo discussed the role of plant-human solidarity in the “Planthroposcene”. Having coined this term, which signals the interference of plants in the heavily debated notion of the Anthropocene, Myers encourages us to “make allies with these green beings”.

During the conversation, Zheng took a walk on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island and Myers in Toronto’s oak savannah. Listeners were invited to do the same: to take a walk in nature and imagine possible relations between humans and plants. You can listen to the recording of the conversation on the right.

Natasha Myers is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at York University in Toronto and director of the Plant Studies Collaboratory. Her current ethnographic projects speculate on the contours of the Planthroposcene, including vegetal sensing and sentience, the politics of gardens, and the enduring colonial violence of restoration ecology.

Zheng Bo is an artist and theorist currently based on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. As this year’s In House: Artist in Residence at the Gropius Bau, he will explore how equality between species on the planet can be imagined and realized. During his residency, Zheng will deepen his research in exchange with scientists and invite the public to talks and workshops.