Seeds of Hope

Research question

How does our relationship with flowers reveal a human desire for control?

Abstract

We are questioning how an anthropomorphic, patriarchal relation to flowers reflects societal tendency to use domination as fundamental model of relationality. We find that “othering” (human/nature, man/woman) is a tool for oppression and wonder how these binaries constrain the way we relate to each other and other beings.

The modern gaze toward nature, shaped by anthropocentric and hierarchical thinking, mirrors how we interpret and structure human society. Nature becomes a metaphorical garden, something to manage, and control.

Take the notion of the “weed” — defined as “a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals”. A weed is, at its core, a life form resisting control.

Dandelion is a quite rebel, but it still offers nourishment to pollinators, ecosystems and even medicine for humans. It sprouts from the cracks in concrete, it appears amid the pavement, on the corner of a building defying difficult conditions. This defiance holds in itself an inherent hopefulness. Even in its struggle the flower carries with it im mense value for its surroundings, other beings and its environment. It is no wonder then that, even for humans, its seeds represent potential for wishes to be fulfilled.

Dandelions seed embodies this resistance. Evolved to not stay but to float on wind currents beyond human navigation. Each seed carries the potential for renewal, for new life, for rebirth.In the times of extensive uncertainty and discomfort we see value in this potential. A seed does not ask for permission. It follows the wind, containing in itself possibility to awaken its dormant life.

In our project 'Seeds of Hope', we use film to explore the relationship between humans and dandelions. Our protagonists - a woman and a flower interact through the proximity of their bodies and different senses. By looking, touching, hearing, talking, and blowing seeds we aim to open a dialogue, invite for mutual understanding. We hope to merge human wish with a seed’s potential of life.

Instead of killing the flower to make a wish we suggest more gentle gesture — getting down to the flower’s level — kneeling and crouching to meet it where it is.

Throughout the film, there is a metamorphosis and embodiment between the human body and the dandelion. Our intention is to imagine intergenerational fairness through our relationship with dandelions, envisioning a future where we see them not as weeds but as companions —crucial and intelligent beings. Through the dandelion, we’re addressing the broader subject of human control over plants and consequently over other humans. We aim to reinterpret this relationship and understand its importance. The slow violence of human need for control highlights the problems we face in our current ecological and social crisis. In reimagining our relation with these resilient flowers, we hope to open possibilities for more equitable relationships with all life, human and non-human alike.