Seeds
The Anthropocene Project. An Encyclopedia
Let us historicize the Anthropocene from the point of view of seeds. Nature, first God’s work, then a scientific data bank, now stored in seed banks. The book of nature? We have long rewritten it and packed nature into the archive. To borrow from Michel Foucault, a good seed is easily counted. We would add: conserved. Accordingly, the seeds are safely stored in Norwegian ice. But why Norway and not Rwanda? Besides the cold temperatures, the political climate could be a bit more stable. What about China instead? And why has the word “geopolitics” gone out of fashion? Still, looking at seeds through the centuries, climate zones, systems of cultivation, and trade routes: Is a seed a seed? Ceteris paribus, out of context and in lab conditions? Hardly. An apple is an apple is an apple. Let’s look at the material world and its processes: how to predict growth outside the lab or a computer matrix? Phew, not that easy. There’s a whiff of anarchy in the air . . .
More information in the media section
A Matter Theater | Begin, Seedy Being! With Geoffrey C. Bowker
A Matter Theater | Etienne Turpin and Stefania Druga - BOTANICAL HACK_Berlin (in German)
A Matter Theater | Anastas, Gabri, Morea – A Politics of Departure, it Effects in Being Affected
HKW Talk on the Anthropocene. With Joyeeta Gupta
Geo-Politics: Conflict and Resistance in the Anthropocene, presented by Adrian Lahoud
