Discreet Broadcasts for Lysichiton americanus

Indole, alcohol, aloe, hydrogen peroxide, sanitizer dispenser; solar-powered radio transmitter, recorded audio

2022

Ruderal Futures at Sixty-Eight Art Institute, Copenhagen

Curated by Alex Young

For “discreet broadcasts for Lisichiton americanus,” I create a hand sanitizer using indole, one of the main compounds composing the putrid scent of Lysichiton Americanus, or Western Skunk Cabbage, an olfactory transmission disguised in the gallery infrastructure of hand sanitizer dispensers. Next to the dispenser, radio receivers guide the listening to the damp banks of the Sortedams Sø (the the perfect environment for the swamp-loving Lysichiton Americanus), just across the water from where the pirate radio station Radio Mercur recorded some of their shows for offshore transmission during 1958-1962. Here, listeners can pick up a radio transmission of a vocal piece performed by Willa Smart with modified audio from early Radio Mercur recordings. Are there lessons in radio and plant signaling about resisting land-based forms of power?

Press

Madeleine Andersson, “ The Insistence of Weeds,” IDoArt.dk, April 15, 2022

Photos 1 & 4 by Jenny Sundby; Others by artist.