July 24 – August 7, 2022
Essay by Mel Becker Solomon
As an avid, and relatively newbie gardener, I was curious about Katelyn Patton’s exhibition for Bird Show. The installation consists of a wooden box filled with rescued weeds that she carefully removed from her client’s yards while working as a landscaper. The box itself is designed such that a house-shaped proscenium rises above the back of the container, creating a new home for these unwanted weeds in a shrine-like setting.
Lady’s thumb (Persicaria maculosa)
Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
After my initial encounter with the work, I began to notice weeds everywhere: next to the trash can in the alley, in the tiny sliver of space between a building and the sidewalk, a giant plot in the abandoned lot around the corner. The questions soon followed: who decides what is a weed? Why was I so quick to rip them out from my own garden? What does invasive mean? Or wait, is it nonnative? Not Indigenous? I quickly realized that the semantics of these terms have implications that reach far beyond my front yard, delving deep into issues that are intertwined much like the field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) winding through the dirt, tightly wrapping itself around a wrought iron fence in order to reach the light.
Eastern black nightshade (Solanum ptychanthum)
Lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album)
Lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album)
Lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album)
According to Wikipedia, a weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, “a plant in the wrong place,” or a plant growing where it is not wanted. Weeds share similar characteristics: they produce a lot of seeds, spread rapidly, typically prefer shade and their roots are far-reaching. Spiny sowthistle (Sonchus asper) As a result, weeds can dominate and have serious effects on agriculture, choking out food sources for pollinators like bees and butterflies. While nature uses wildfire to control weeds, in which a prairie is reborn and oaks continue to stand tall, our modern environment requires human intervention through controlled burns and hand pulling of particularly aggressive weeds like garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata).
Common dayflower (Commelina communis)
For the artist, weeds only exist in relation to humankind’s perspective. Such that when we see a Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) as a weed, an intruder, an eyesore, we extricate them because that’s what we’ve been told. But why do we maintain pristine green carpets of grass, why must we sanitize our lawns with pesticides in the name of conformity and order? Who said so? What does Mother Nature think about this social norm? Giant horsetail (Equisetum telmateia) There is a movement growing to correct these wrongs, to learn, to grow, to value this planet and its natural order.
Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
Within the microcosm of the artist’s shrine, weeds thrive that would otherwise be pulled from the ground and tossed in the yard waste pile. A lush tangle of green pools out of the wooden box, a natural crown to the metal table below. Green foxtail (Setaria viridis) Their green limbs sway in the wind, a natural and soothing rhythm is inherent in their movements. The beauty contained within this small box makes me think of my own garden. I had questioned my decision to leave several clumps of fleabane (Erigeron annuus), a commonly misunderstood native plant that many consider a weed. It grows tiny, daisy-like flowers that remind me of the patterns on dresses in the Delia*s catalog I coveted as a teen (and could never afford). Despite my fondness for them, I was thinking of uprooting them—worrying what the neighbors would think of my garden. I’m glad I kept them. So are the bees. I hinge the same worry/nostalgia on dandelions—flowers in which I made rings from with a beautiful yellow fringed jewel and laced the flowers through my braids. I used to rip these out by the bucketful. I’ve since learned that dandelions and these early springtime “weeds” are an essential food source for bees, so they remain in my garden. Patton’s exhibition delivers a similar message—take time to understand what grows where you live.
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
And did you know that you can eat weeds? Yes! You can, but with the guidance of a foraging professional like Alexis Nikole Nelson, also known as the “Black Forager” on social media. Through her channels on Tik Tok and Instagram, she searches for edible plants (many of them considered weeds) in her backyard and turns them into culinary delights in her kitchen—her videos are often followed by her morbidly cute catchphrase, “Happy snacking, don’t die!” Mock strawberry (Potentilla indica) For Nelson, foraging is a way to connect with her own African American and Indigenous roots, while educating herself and her audiences on the difficult and often lost histories of the foodways of these cultures. Now, whenever I walk by a patch of Lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album) in the city (it’s everywhere), I think of the delicious wild spinach (aka Lamb’s quarters!) dip she made from this free and abundant resource. You can also make ink from foraged materials—as part of Patton’s artistic practice she collects plants like White clover (Trifolium repens) and bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) to use as color in her work. Engaging with these free and accessible resources in the city is an essential part of her practice.
Much like the artist, I urge the reader of this text to investigate their surroundings. Take interest in the plants you walk past and the weeds sprouting up on the corner while you wait to cross the street. Be curious. You never know what you might discover right outside your door.
Eastern black nightshade (Solanum ptychanthum)
Giant horsetail (Equisetum telmateia)
Weeds from the artist’s installation used throughout the text:
Lady’s thumb (Persicaria maculosa)
Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
Eastern black nightshade (Solanum ptychanthum)
Spiny sowthistle (Sonchus asper)
Common dayflower (Commelina communis)
Lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album)
Giant horsetail (Equisetum telmateia)
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Green foxtail (Setaria viridis)
Mock strawberry (Potentilla indica)
Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
White clover (Trifolium repens)
