Hadas Duchan
Visual artist
2024
Installation
Curator: Hagar Raban, Tali Kayam, Loving Art Making Art Festival, Tel Aviv
In living beings, growth and development stem from cell reproduction—cells divide and replicate themselves.
However, to create life from nothing, a single cell cannot carry out the task alone. It requires two distinct cells, male and female,
which must unite and, through this alchemical act, form a shared nucleus from which they begin to divide and transform into a new, living creation.
In this work, I invite the viewer to join me in planting a seed—both a real seed and a metaphorical one.
To bury it in the earth and breathe new life into it—whether as an idea, an action, a habit, a thought, a wish, or an intention of the heart—
and to engage with me as the counterforce needed to create something new from nothing within the fabric of reality.
Through a brief inquiry, we explore what kind of seed is right to plant. What plant resonates with the essence of the intention?
An annual or a perennial? A plant whose presence in the soil supports the growth of others? A tall or short plant? One with magnificent blooms or a strong fragrance? And more.
Then, based on the individual, the nature of their wish, and the surrounding conditions,
we craft a unique fertilizer blend containing various elements designed to support both the physical seed and the seed of the wish—
allowing them to grow, take root in the soil of reality, and flourish in their full splendor.
At the end of the process, the participant receives an envelope containing soil, the specific plant seeds,
and a personalized fertilizer blend crafted for them and their wish, which they then go out to plant in a nearby garden bed.