Edition prepared by: Put on a tail (Evgenia Belyakova, Alena Ermalchuk, Nastya Ziborova, Moscow. See chapter “The psyche of Schweinfurt”, pp.156-157)
An artist is a constructor of possible worlds, but the Anthropocene and the Sixth Extinction raise the question point-blank: isn’t it time to retrain as (re)constructors of existing worlds? And how far is it from this occupation to the creation of utopian worlds? Most of the species that have ever lived on Earth have already sunk into oblivion. By the end of the 21st century, biodiversity on the planet will decrease significantly. And even if a person outlasts his neighbors in the heavenly body, who would want to live in the desert? We seemed to have enough time to do something. But the possibility of a nuclear winter already tomorrow makes one feel more acutely the approaching end of the familiar world.
Participants of the Encyclopedia of Plants, the second part of the exhibition Sixth Extinction, were invited to overturn the idea of a general resurrection to the past of the Earth – this time the flora returns to life. The basic resource here is the game: the game, if you like, divine, in which the artist is directly likened to the universal creator and magnificent cosmic forces, which, in reckless arbitrariness, produce new noumena and phenomena. Each artist was given the name of a plant, determined by chance (lottery). Further (re)construction was entirely the responsibility of the authors
Exhibition Catalog The Sixth Extinction / 2022
The psyche of Schweinfurt (156-157 pages)
One of the unique varieties of sunflower, the fruits of which reached sizes up to 200 cm in height and 120 cm in width. An extremely nutritious fruiting body could feed several families of Homo (about 20 individuals) for 3-4 months. The hard and durable skin of the giant seeds was used by the ancient Homo as a roomy and practical coffin to bury the dead. Unfortunately, the recreated Schweinfurtius Psiadia does not bear fruit. Scientists and artists are working on this problem, but a positive result has not yet been achieved. The psyche of Schweinfurt.
Sergey Katran