Grassroots: How to Resist Like a Weed? 

Both in her daily life as well as in her artistic practice, Sandra Kosorotova has consistently reused materials, saved resources and employed more biodegradable matter. During the pandemic, Kosorotova learned to make textile dyes from weeds as well as from kitchen waste. As she explains: “I have decided not to work with chemicals, and vegetable dyes are a good alternative. Picking plants, learning about them and making colours from them is a very enjoyable process and I want it to become a big part of my art practice. Plant wisdom is easy to acquire because it is not necessary to learn, but to be reminded.”

For this exhibition, the artist has selected quotes from authors commenting on the cross-cultural, medicinal, political and poetic nature of “weeds”, and on relationship between nature and culture from a politicised perspective including adrienne maree brown, Richard Mabey, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Sinikka Piippo and others. The work shifts the negative connotations around weeds as plants inimical to the local context, drawing attention to their resilience in the face of environmental degradation or attempts to suppress their growth. The artist also draws comparisons between the hateful vocabulary around these plants and the anxieties about national character, integrity and purity.