Interview with Andrew Gryf Paterson by Rasa Smite
Interview with Andrew Gryf Paterson by Rasa Smite, October 10, 2010 (via e-mail)
Q1. What was your motivation to initiate Herbologies/Foraging Networks project? What is the main idea behind it, and how it relates (if it does) to sustainability, food as energy, similar issues?
Inspirations for the Herbologies/Foraging Networks project gathered from different sides and at different times over a 3-4 year period.
One summer in 2006 I visited Katajamäki Eco-commune in central Finland (near Vilppula) and met Ossi Kakko, one of Finland's wild food experts and activists. I was with the knowledge that he had taught himself, and at the time a large part of his vegan diet was sourced from his forest surroundings. Also a year later, I had the privilege to stay in the house of urban permaculture and urban foraging expert Nance Khlem. She lived in an immigant Mexican neighbourhood and gathered many fruits from abandoned or lesser-known sources in many inner-city or post-industrial gap sites. As a landscape gardener by trade, she was also an active and well-respected member of the artist-activist and self-organising education scene of Chicago.
Thirdly, I became aware in my travels between Finland and Latvia over the years, and in particular conversation and friendship with Signe Pucena of SERDE, I realised that Baltic and Nordic people know about and use their local plants differently, for example common experience among Nordics berry-picking, and for Balts making herbal tea.
From these different encounters, I reflected that as an immigrant to the region, I not only knew little about the native wild plants that surrounded me in Finland, but I also remembered little from growing up as a child in Scottish rural countryside, and didn't have rural or nearby grandparents who might have passed on this knowledge: different cultures, economics and social circumstances have shaped these things.
All these perspectives made me interested to create a cultural research project which explored the different ways how we might learn about useful plants (Herbologies), and that which we may find in our local habitat (Foraging), in collaboration with others. My years living in Helsinki has been dominated by internet and network culture, and I realised that this context is also emerging as way to learn about how to do and make things, and a key source of sharing information and practices for all generations in the Nordic region, but especially for young people.
It seemed appropriate to try and 'mash-up' these subjects to see what might be learned. I was fortunate to find company and shared inspiration with Ulla Taipale (Capsula) and Signe Pucena (SERDE) to add their specialisms in art-science curation and cultural heritage development respectively. Although the topics surrounding foraged food have been explored in Anglo-sphere cultural and artistic contexts in recent years, especially in USA and UK; in locations where wild plants are closer to home and everyday use such as Finland and Latvia, this subject hadn't yet appeared and been supported as cultural/arts production in the Baltic Sea region.
A growing awareness of food security - Where do or will we get our food from? - literally in terms of location or source now, and in the future, is part of a wider movement of critique and thought in ecological and economic sustainability issues, and energy (especially oil) -dependent systems. People could reduce the energy spent in transporting their food from far away places, via gaining vitamins and nutrients from local ecosytems which might be returned back into those same ones. Also by knowing and making use of that which is found in one's own local nature, for example to heal and offer ailment in the body, a greater awareness of human interdependence with nature may develop.
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Q2. How you would describe yourself your interest to work 1) collaboratively and 2) in interdisciplinary field -- fusing art and cultural heritage, culture and alternative economy? Is it experimentation with new art forms, or is it social action?
I like to say that my creative strengths lie in hybridity, communications, organisation and network arts: the ability to bring together and involve people in creative exploration, develop temporary communities, gather unexpected elements and components, creating poetic connections and new sites for cultural activity.
My increasing interest in collaborations to do work - emphasised since moving to Finland in 2003 - is based not only in having broad or open minded approach, but also in 'not-knowing' or having the full ability to do things oneself. Starting first in new media development, where different skill-sets are necessary to imagine, produce and communicate emerging technologies, I have appreciated what may be learned by working with others, and how different minds or characters, educations and disciplines can shape a project, leading it in directions one might not gone on one's own. This has been especially the case in the last year or so with 'Alternative Economic Cultures' and 'Herbologies/Foraging Networks' projects, where 'many directions' is an important concept in raising awareness of these subjects.
Often the different perspectives gathered in a collaboration can create a new activity or communication space for work, especially where one didn't exist before. This is especially the case in emerging art forms, technologies or practices. In my opinion, creating spaces for new relations and connections between and despite creative disciplinary boundaries is a form of artistic and activist organisational work. The effort to raise interest, awareness and logistically create this space -- to physically bring people from different backgrounds and locations together -- is social action, that demands resources, time and finances. Learning about alternative financing and economical approaches, which values social, natural and human volunteer contributions is important as part of this process. Doing so creatively, imagining, and supporting emerging practices and thoughts could be argued to be an art form.
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Q3. Do you consider that your projects, your approach may provide an alternative perspective how to deal with sustainability issues? Do you think your activities may have an impact outside of arts community (other people)?
I hope that transdisciplinary approaches and thinking 'outside-the-box' can help people conceptualise sustainability issues, and especially encourage cultural workers to get involved with experts and activists in creative research and social action. Many people in the education and academic context appreciate the sustainability argument, including zero and de-growth economic perspectives. The difficulty may be inviting people to do something actually, practically.
Participatory arts practices, such as making workshops, can open up situations where people from outside the arts community can get involved. There are recent historial traditions in the previous 30-40 years (at least in the Anglo-speaking countries) of community arts and development, working with particular groups and demographics. A broad and open-minded approach that is inclusive of many different people, will need to be employed for sustainable development and change on these matters.
Without sustained support, finances and resources my own activities and communication strategy can at best raise awareness among a creative and culture sector of society, and a niche group of people who are interested in the subject, regardless of background. Cultural institutional support, and social networking approaches online are broadening the reach of small-scale and grassroot cultural initiatives. The best I can do, impact-wise, is inspire people do similar artistic-organisational work on sustainability issues.
References
Herbologies/Foraging Networks: http://www.herbologies-foraging.net/
Katajamäen Yhteisö: http://rihmasto.fi/node/10
Nance Khlem: http://spontaneousvegetation.net/
Signe Pucena/SERDE: http://serde.lv/
Ulla Taipale/Capsula: http://www.capsula.org.es/