Collaboration with Nature
In working with root systems, I began questioning boundaries of what constitutes collaboration, what constitutes control, and whether calling something a collaboration with nature is just a way of greenwashing[1] control given nature is a forced participant in this supposed collaboration.
While at face value, this seemed like a simple query, it required some defining to answer it. Firstly, what is “nature”, is this the correct term in the context of the question?
The concept of “collaborating with nature” arose in my practice with an idea to explore creating work outside of the confines of my studio. Initially, production involved creating algae-based bioplastic works at the beach, whether by pouring the bioplastic into the water or directly onto the sand. This collaboration with nature expanded to include plants with the introduction of growing and harvesting plants for their root systems into my practice.
In the process of harvesting root systems, I noted a strong empathetic response from the plants in slicing off their roots, which resulted in their death, and this brought up some questions about morality. While I grow vegetables to eat, I have not felt so explicitly the feeling of empathy in harvesting the plants. Perhaps this is due to the vegetables being grown for food for me and my family, fulfilling a natural role as nutrition as humans have come to require and rely on through evolution. I can perhaps attribute a stronger empathetic response to the plants I am culling for the purpose of obtaining their root system for my art practice to two factors. Firstly, it is somewhat egocentric and exploitative to determine the life and death of a plant purely for the purpose of creating artwork, not something necessary for survival, such as food. And secondly, incorporating plants into my art practice creates an emotional attachment to them as one might feel about a drawing or painting. Regardless of the specific psychology behind my response, it caused me to question the ethics around the term “collaboration with nature”.
In the context of the question of what constitutes collaboration and what constitutes control, and whether calling something a collaboration with nature is just a way of greenwashing control given nature is a forced participant in this collaboration, I sought to establish through research what “nature” is.
The term “nature” seems complex to define. Raymond Williams, who is considered as a founder of ecocultural studies argued that “nature is perhaps the most complex word in the language”.[2]
The Oxford dictionary defines nature as “the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creation”. [3] The Britannica dictionary defines nature as “the physical world and everything in it (such as plants, animals, mountains, oceans, stars, etc.) that is not made by people”.[4] For me, these similar definitions seem somewhat problematic. They both state that animals are part of nature; humans are mammalian animals. However, humans create humans so these definitions also seem to suggest that they are not part of nature.
In discussing the work of Raymond Williams around nature (the components, economies, and culture) Rodney Gibblet states that the “facets of an air-shed, watershed, bioregion, beings, places, spaces, materials, and the earth collectively conceptualize what used to be, or still could be called, nature. They suggest that nature is ordinary, the stuff of work and everyday life.” [5]
My activities in relation to my “collaborations” with nature, I view that the word “nature” was a simplistic way to describe the other components within the four spheres of the Earth’s sub-systems (land, water, living things, and air).[6] A plant is a component of the biosphere (living things), as humans are. These are components are all part of nature that systematically work side by side in a symbiotic relationship.
The answer to the question seems to lie in the definitions of the words “collaboration” and “control”. The word collaboration is defined as “the act of working together to produce a piece of work, especially a book or some research”.[7] Control is defined as a: to exercise restraining or directing influence over (regulate), b: to have power over (rule)[8].
Regardless that I am part of nature myself, I have set systems in place to influence the growth of plants which would otherwise not grow in the space, I am determining the life and death of the plants. I do not view the plants are collaborating in the sense of working together with me, they are simply responding to stimulation and environmental manipulations in a natural way (growing). The word “together” in respect of collaboration implies the plant is aware of the intentions of a project and is consenting, which of course, is impossible in how we understand plants and communication barriers. There is an imbalance of power in how my actions directly influence the plant which constitutes as control more so than collaboration.
While creating with root systems is not harmful to the environment, the use of the term “collaboration with nature” in this instance is a form of greenwashing particularly if considered with the viewpoint of Gillis and Kerner (2024) who state that “greenwashing isn't always an overtly false claim; it can be a claim that isn't entirely accurate or is in some way deceptive or misleading”[9] indicating that levels of deceptions in greenwashing exist on a spectrum. While the use of the word “collaboration” gives a sense of an equal partnership in achieving an outcome, it is misleading when used in the sense of working with plants as I am. I am not collaborating with nature (nature as in a plant), I am controlling the plant, and the plant is responding to my controlling parameters.
[1] The term “greenwashing” refers to an act of making either false or misleading assertions in regards to the environmental impact of an organisation, product or service has on the environment in how it is claimed to be more environmentally friendly than what it actually is.
[2] Giblett, Rod. “Nature Is Ordinary Too: Raymond Williams as the Founder of Ecocultural Studies.” Cultural Studies 26, no. 6 (November 1, 2012): 922–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2012.707221.
[3] Knowles, Elizabeth. The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press eBooks, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780198609810.001.0001.
[4] “Nature Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary,” n.d. https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/nature.
[5] Giblett, Rod. “Nature Is Ordinary Too: Raymond Williams as the Founder of Ecocultural Studies.” Cultural Studies 26, no. 6 (November 1, 2012): 922–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2012.707221.
[6] ByJu’s. “Investigating Four Spheres of Earth.” BYJU’S, February 14, 2023. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://byjus.com/physics/four-spheres-of-earth/.
[7] Collins Dictionary. “Collaboration.” Accessed October 10, 2024. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/collaboration.
[8] “Control.” In Merriam-Webster Dictionary, October 4, 2024. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/control.
[9] Gillis, Alexander S., and Sean Michael Kerner. “What Is Greenwashing?” WhatIs, August 5, 2024. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/greenwashing.
