Julia Krupa

With the permission of a participant in the WOK residency programme: Process-ing Change. An Artistic and Research Accompaniment, we take a look at her notes — documentation of her personal process of experiencing change.

The residency took the form of individual consultations on my artistic and research path, as well as open workshops and meetings on herbalism as a practice of inter-genre alliances. Meetings with experts and my mentor Anna Galas-Kosil, who supported me both as an artist and researcher and the initiator of the Chwaściarnia collective. Initially, I presented twelve planned events to the mentor. After the discussion, I decided to shift the focus of my work (including the process of creating distance for work and reflection) towards my development. I opted for discussions, exercises and practices with selected individuals — curators, scientists and artists.

I decided to consult with young performance researchers — Anna Majewska and Ida Ślęzak. The conversations and exercises they suggested allowed me to deepen my sensitivity to herbal practices as acts of mindfulness. Our collaborative work also resulted in maps that problematised the themes of my projects and the issue of working with plants. To discuss my doubts about the ethics of artistic methodologies within plant studies, I decided to consult with researcher Magdalena Zamorska. The two discussions focused on the language that conveys agency and subjectivity to non-humans, as well as the development of appropriate artistic work tools. To develop mindfulness in the body and cooperation with (embodied) plants, I invited choreographer Alicja Czyczel to collaborate. Two meetings involved performative practice of engaging with plants near Lake Czerniakowskie and a conversation about methods of collective work. The second meeting resulted in Chwaściarnia’s actions being modified to engage the group in more horizontal activities.

I decided to organise two events from the originally planned schedule. These included a workshop that resulted in the creation of a collaborative zine. The pages that followed contained accounts of participants’ relationships with plants in the city, particularly those in and around the WOK area. I co-facilitated the meeting with social activist Joanna Klikowicz and educator/poet Ada Rączka. After printing and binding, the zine was distributed to friendly cultural institutions and stand-alone park libraries in its appropriate environment. Documentation was maintained by both participants and facilitators. Sketches and dried plants collected for the zine were also preserved. The second event was a storytelling session “Pass it on: Plant Stories” about experiencing plants as witnesses to events and their healing powers. Participants were invited to a space arranged in a circular shape, where a diverse group in terms of age and experience was encouraged to share their stories.

The entire residency process allowed me to step back from my own artistic practice and examine it “from the side”. It enabled an evaluation of previous artistic work methods and the co-creation of the collective. Through meetings with individual interlocutors, I was able to explore new areas of interest and see what resonated most with me. In the future I intend to develop performative tools in both artistic and research work. I also hope to continue exploring language and text formation in order to be as empowering as possible for the plants I work with. By creating a space for this, I have also been able to reflect on collective action — Chwaściarnia will return in a completely different, much more horizontal and inclusive formula the new season.