Traces of Life

The exhibition Traces of Life interrogates the interdependence of human and non-human life, exploring their intersecting mobilities and rights in hostile environments. Too often, nature has been weaponized in the service of military invasions and national border defenses. Controlling nature, like controlling people, has long been part of the arsenal of war. The stakes in this struggle involve the power to determine who is welcome in certain territories and who is not. Who is displaced, and for whose benefit? What complex forces govern these sites? And how is value measured when the preservation of specific orchid species is contrasted with the neglect of vulnerable groups of people, such as refugees? 

At a time when military conflicts, climate emergency, fake news, and other crises have converged—often fuelled by far-right political agendas—it is crucial to pay attention to the land and to those who still hang on under such circumstances. 

The videos and accompanying materials—much like the seeds in the exhibition—talk about the local contexts they come from, as well as the possibilities and severe restrictions on how seeds and other bodies are allowed to move, including crossing borders. They recount stories of grounding and uprootedness, belonging and loss, and the possibilities of living, dying and hope through the global circulation of food and culture as people travel with their seeds. “As long as you have seeds in your pocket, you will never be poor”—goes the old saying. Seeds embody resilience, the potential for entire species, traditions, and ideas to take root and flourish. How can we save, exchange, and cultivate these seeds? 

Curators: Borbála Soós and Katalin Székely

Supported by: British Council, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands