Dublin-born, New York-based artist and environmental activist Katie Holten represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale. Her new book The Language of Trees will be published next year by Tin House. Her artwork is on display in her Botanica exhibition at the Crawford Art Gallery until September 18th.
BOOKS: Should Trees Stand?
Thanks to the local library, Should the tree stand? By Christopher Stone. This book is older and wiser than I am, and provides a compelling case for giving legal rights to the environment, now known as the Nature Rights Movement.
I devoured black conch mermaid By Monique Roffey – A delicious, modern mythological love story that explores the relationship between humans and non-humans.
Movie: Territory
I don’t watch much TV, but I’m glued to the hearings on January 6th and can’t wait for the reopening. I haven’t been to the cinema since 2019, so I’m getting a little off track.
I’m trapped on a small island watching the waves (US immigration services are overwhelmed and can’t process travel documents). watching my breathing trying to slow downthere is a new movie called territoryAbout Ur-Eu-Wow-Wow, Indigenous to the Amazon by Alex Preetz.
Sound: Birds chirping
I hear birds. I’ve used the Merlin Bird ID App to identify calls from colorful little hummingbirds, goldfinches, catbirds, cardinals, red-tailed hawks, and lots of ospreys this year. They sing alone and together, sharing stories that our limited human brains can’t decipher.
Everything makes me happy and calms me down. A gentle breeze sways the poplar tree I’m sitting on, bringing its leaves together. We also hear Yo-Yo Ma, a human playing wood on a cello made of maple, spruce and willow.
ART: Venice Biennale
I want to go to the Venice Biennale. There is also documenta in Kassel, Germany. Her Jessica J Lee, one of her contributors to my book, a thousand words of weather With Artangel in London. With any luck, the US will set me free to travel.
