Patricia Barry Levy
Alternative Facts: Photography by Any Means
Artist Statement, 2021
Seeds are a powerful metaphor for life, renewal, and transformation. Their potential, under the right conditions, to open and release the beginning of a young plant is a fascinating phenomenon. In the case of tree seeds in particular, the vast difference in scale between a small vulnerable seed and a potentially huge mature tree is astounding to me.
Saving seeds from favorite, or hard to find, plants in order to plant them again in future seasons is a way to keep the cycle of rebirth and growth going. In our progressively monocultural world, preservation of seeds from endangered plant varieties can benefit future generations.
Birds are one of the ways seeds are dispersed, sometimes over impressively great distances. This is just one of the many ways they aid in maintaining the ecological balance. The illustrated bird I’ve incorporated into my photographs, bearing the seed on its back, was first published in 1776 – its antiqueness lends an “every bird” quality. The neighborhood it sits over consists of structures photographed in different parts of the world merged together to symbolize a common global community. The bird, and its cargo, claim a primary position of importance and influence over the world they seek to preserve, against great odds.
On display March 1 – April 12, 2021 at the PACE Center Art Gallery:
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