Plants on the Periphery is a series of linocut prints depicting several non-native plants growing at Rosehall Run Vineyard, located on the traditional territories of the Wendake-Nionwentsïo, the Mississauga, and the Haudenosaunee First Nations, otherwise known as Rosehall, Ontario. My time was spent at local archives and speaking to vineyard staff, learning about the different relationships people have formed to plant life and the land known as Rosehall through agricultural practices and food production.
The five plants depicted in this series are mullein, sulphur cinquefoil, bindweed, wormseed wallflower, and the European wine grape itself. An accompanying pamphlet provides details on the histories, properties, growing patterns, and known uses of each plant.
The wine grape is a non-native plant that receives a lot of attention in the area, which has become popularized as wine country. This series highlights other non-native plants commonly referred to as weeds often found growing alongside the grapes. These frequently overlooked plants can be found throughout Ontario usually growing on disturbed land: the edges of roads, along fences, clearings, and on industrial sites.
These plants have left their place of origin through various means (often beyond their control) and arrived here, adapting to new environments and changing surrounding ecosystems.
This work invites viewers to turn their gaze and curiosity towards plants growing on the peripheries of vineyard grape beds, gardens, fences, sidewalks and pathways to explore the symbiotic relationships between plants, humans, and non-human life.
The five plants depicted in this series are mullein, sulphur cinquefoil, bindweed, wormseed wallflower, and the European wine grape itself. An accompanying pamphlet provides details on the histories, properties, growing patterns, and known uses of each plant.
The wine grape is a non-native plant that receives a lot of attention in the area, which has become popularized as wine country. This series highlights other non-native plants commonly referred to as weeds often found growing alongside the grapes. These frequently overlooked plants can be found throughout Ontario usually growing on disturbed land: the edges of roads, along fences, clearings, and on industrial sites.
These plants have left their place of origin through various means (often beyond their control) and arrived here, adapting to new environments and changing surrounding ecosystems.
This work invites viewers to turn their gaze and curiosity towards plants growing on the peripheries of vineyard grape beds, gardens, fences, sidewalks and pathways to explore the symbiotic relationships between plants, humans, and non-human life.
I wish to thank the Ontario Arts Council for their support in making this project possible.