Japanese Knotweed Blog
Read our blog and stay up to date with research articles, interviews with artists, and fun anecdotes about the Japanese knotweed.
To many, calling a name equals casting a spell, as names are often assigned with magic or spiritual power. Such belief spreads widely geographically among different tribes. In modern days, we know that an alien name also triggers part of our brain to generate the feelings of fear, rejection and…
The Magic in A Name A name is like a vessel, carrying lore, beliefs, and mysteries. Our ancestors passed on interesting yet similar tales around names. To many, calling a name equals casting a spell, as names are often assigned with magic or spiritual power. Such belief spreads widely geographically among different tribes.[1] Yet we do not need to trace a thousand years back to draw an example, as nowadays parents still convey their best wishes when naming a newborn - a harmless superstition.
Presumably, anxiety is a challenge we all have dealt with at one point in our lives. Be it caused by the pandemic, wars, our fast paced lifestyles, our own personal challenges, or… THE JAPANESE KNOTWEED!
Generalized anxiety disorder, as you may know, is a persistent and widespread condition characterized by non-specific stress and worry. It is marked by feelings of threat, irritability, sleep disturbances, and tension, accompanied by physical symptoms like throbbing, dry mouth, and sweating. A common result of anxiety are intrusive thoughts. Notably, we are not talking about general intrusive thoughts, but anxiety specific thoughts. These can be described as: “Any distinct, identifiable…
Have you watched the Boy and the Heron yet? In Miyazaki latest film the boy Mahito, together with a supernatural Blue Heron, experiences the adventure of a lifetime. The screen is brimming with colourful characters, even the main star in our Japanese Knotweed season had a small role! Like other…
© NHK ( The Japan Broadcasting Corporation) source
The Japanese Knotweed Festival is coming up, and what better way to kick it off than by celebrating our own Japanese knotweed at Mediamatic? In merely 4 weeks, this plant can grow up to 1.5 meters, as shown in the pictures below.
Last year we've planted these as part of the wall-installation The Dog Chased Its Tail To Bite It Off by Alaa Abu Asad. With this work Abu Asad calls for new modes of interacting with our surroundings that go beyond an utilitarian approach and embrace instead inclusivity and respect. By investing time and imagination we can discover ways of coexistence with the Japanese Knotweed, rather than expending resources on developing methods to kill it. The installation and our knotweed is free to… By: Vu Ha
During her time on residency at Mediamatic, McGibbon researched, experimented and developed new skills in storytelling and means of expression through scent. As a world-builder, the artist was curious to explore the shift from viewer to active world participant through physical and sensory…
The research from the residency informs the artist's current enquiry entitled; 'Love beyond species and the sexual'. This ongoing project is a Xenothorpian multi-species romance, a love affair driven by the concept of queer-multi-species desire, can loving beyond protocol result in more relational choices that disrupt human-centred practices with the wild, unkempt, overgrown and invasive species? In the first week of her residency, McGibbon participated in a series of Medamatic workshops led… By: Siobhán McGibbon
Tea dissolves the shells we have formed around us, separate from each other, to protect ourselves from the dizzying torrents of our day-to-day lives. It is time that we recollect ourselves and pause ourselves. It is time.
The Calm After the Storm is one of the aphrodisiac recipes in our "Seafoam" series , in which we attempt to queer the traditional aphrodisiac. We cordially invite you to embark on our odyssey of love— where crew members across species interact with one another in transforming adventures of various forms . Keep a loving eye on our blog as we update experimentation and taste testing of the recipes. Medium Though both are popular warm beverages, a cup of herbal tea differs quite a bit… By: Hyunsuh Kim