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YOUR CART

we don't grow rose

[Commission work for the Double Decker project] 

Introduction 

It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
There is an openness in art that it is acceptable to create works that is not totally rational. Rethinking about how little moments we have experienced with the nature nowadays and how easy we consume the natural resources, this project would propose a set of instructions for you to spend your (valuable) time to engage with the nature.
Due to the outbreak of  COVID-19, most of us are encouraged to stay home and conduct quarantine. These instructions are to be carried at home mostly for you. German artist Joseph Beuys’s 7000 Oak trees project illustrated how he thinks of public art as a mean of social sculpture that planting 7000 trees in a country does not only physically enhanced urbanisation with green elements, but also aims to change people mindset regarding the living spaces around us, that human and nature can, and should be, coexist.
Further developed from Beuys idea, you may not aware that there are tons of wastage that we produced everyday and most of us are too used to this issue that we do not feel sorry about it. The 2011 Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology study estimated the total of global food loss and waste to around one third of the edible parts of food produced for human consumption, amounting to about 1.3 billion tonnes per year. 
That over-easiness and effortless ways of obtaining materials in this society reduces our sensitivity in understanding and treasuring “time” as when we deal with the nature, that we believe “time” are buyable: vegetables and fruits we eat daily seems to be only as a result of money transaction, that we do not feel the time needed for one vegetables to grow from a seed/bud, nor the effort one takes to nurture it. Some people suggest that maybe one effect of COVID-19 is that we can at least try to slow down a bit and to reflect the life we used to have. This project aims to set some instruction that encourage you to grow something that is extremely ordinary, or even things that we generally treat as rubbish: regrowing vegetables from kitchen scraps that those roots we cut from vegetables as after buying them from the markets.

Instruction 
This project welcomes everyone to take part. You are welcome to share this idea with your friends, family members and communities, and invite them to take part. It will be an approximately 1 month (or longer) project that involves multi-practices: growing plants, photo documentaries, research, art creations, cooking and sharing. 
You will be required to purchase 3 fresh vegetables from your local market. Advises will be given on species of vegetables that are relatively easy to re-grow from the cut-root condition*; in general this project will aim for those plants that we consume the leaves such as cabbages but not roots such as carrots. It will be also interesting to discover your local vegetables species that maybe less common to people from other countries. 
Only the roots part will be kept. Detail suggestions will be given for how to keep the roots alive and try to regrow from the root remains in the Plant Care part*. 

You will be performing a series of practices: 
  1. Try the best to keep the vegetable roots alive, you will be growing 3 roots (same species) as to increase the chance of survival; 
  2. Photo documentary will be taken everyday to record the condition/regrowing of the vegetable for 30 continuous day. It is important to spend time with those vegetables and to literally see the changes, those photos will be presented at the end of the project. Think about how you want to present it: A time-lapse video? A series of photos in album formate? And in what sequences? 
  3. You will also spend time to study the specie that you will be growing: origin, habitats, historical development, cultivations and so on. It is interesting to know the background of the food that we eat daily. Please share this research report with us by contacting me  / sandwich space. This research report indicate a sense of care that you know more about what you grow and the time you spent with your plant is beautiful and extensive;  

At the end of the planting, 3 different approaches will be taken for your 3 vegetables:
  1. One vegetable will be harvested (regardless of how big it regrows) and being cooked by you such that you will be eating the 1-month-effort. Tell us what do you feel? do you feel blessed, pity, reluctant to cook it or mere indifferent? Why make you feel in that way?  
  2. One vegetable will be kept for growing as long as they could, I remember I had grown some beans in the past that they germinate, blossoms and reproduce beans. You are encouraged to regularly update the vegetable image via instagram hashtags #wedontgrowrose . Remember this project is interesting as others are also growing their plants too. This sharing motivates others and welcome more people to take part;
  3. One vegetable will be employed as an inspiration for you to create an artwork. Your inspiration can be your experience in spending your time that vegetable (think of the meaning behind, what is the importance of this project and how the element of time makes different with this plant than the others, what is the meaning of regrowing to you)  the vegetable per se (biological / aesthetic inspiration such as the pattern of the leaves, the colours, the curves, the plant’s reaction to the light, or by employing the vegetable itself as the media such as brushes), any association with the vegetable / project (historical / iconographical / cultural factors) and so on. You can employ different approaches to create your work and there is no limitation for the medium for the art creation. Surprise us. Send us your artwork by emailing to the artist / double decker, or post in Instagram hashtags #wedontgrowrose. 


Please remember that there is an openness in this project that it allows organic involvement and no succeed / failure judgments should be made. We can all expect that some vegetables may die within the 30 days durations and plan may not go smoothly as we predict. No worry. It is fine. There is always lesson that we can learn and get inspired from this experience. It is that you do spend your meaningful time onto the seemingly non-meaningful project that matters. Accidents such as death of the plants may provoke more interesting reflections to you. Tell us what do you feel if the vegetable just die before the 30 days proposed timeline; tell us if you want to try again if all vegetables die within the 30 days project; tell us which approaches will you take if you have only 1 or 2 vegetable available after the 30 day project, will you cook it, keep growing it or make artwork out of it.

It is an experimental approach for all of us to literally slow down and spend time with the ordinary things that we may overlook and to see what it can brings us to. Enjoy your journey.   

*General species of vegetables that are easy to grow from the cut and how to take care of them:
-Head-form, leafy veggies: Lettuce, Bok Choy, celery romaine, and cabbage 
Grow from the leftover leaves or plant’s base, put into 3-5cm water, refresh the water regularly, indirect sunlight
-Bulk / bulb-like allium family: Scallions, onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, lemongrass and fennel
All the allium family can grow from the rooting base of the bulb or stem. Put the rooting base into 3-5cm water and refresh the water regularly, indirect sunlight 
-Herbs: Basil, mint, cilantro, lemongrass and other herbs 
Place a stem of around 10cm long into a glass of water and roots will soon being to grow 

(Sources from internet: 
https://www.ruralsprout.com/regrow-vegetables/
https://www.diyncrafts.com/4732/repurpose/25-foods-can-re-grow-kitchen-scraps
https://www.gardentech.com/blog/gardening-and-healthy-living/growing-food-from-kitchen-scraps) 

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