Diana Lelonek's Seaberry Slagheap Project Reimagines Post-Mining Poland Through Cosmopolitical Art
Initiated in the autumn of 2018, Diana Lelonek's project, Seaberry Slagheap, aims to rejuvenate the degraded Konin area in western Poland by creating a 'seaberry basin' through the cultivation of Hippophae plants for jam and juice production. This initiative responds to the decline of the mining sector and the absence of alternatives following coal, which is projected to remain viable for another thirty years. Lelonek showcased her work at the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) in Katowice, where she criticized green capitalism and chose to boycott The Good Climate pavilion over concerns of greenwashing. Her previous projects include the Institute for Living Things (2016) and Zoe-therapie (2015). She holds a PhD from the University of the Arts Poznan and has earned several accolades.
Key facts
- Diana Lelonek's Seaberry Slagheap project began in fall 2018.
- The project focuses on the Konin region in western Poland, degraded by open-pit coal mining.
- Seaberry (Hippophae) plants grow on dry coal slag heaps and are used to make products like jams and juices.
- The project was exhibited at The Most Beautiful Catastrophe at CCA Kronika in Bytom during COP24 in December 2018.
- Lelonek boycotted The Good Climate pavilion in Katowice due to greenwashing by companies like Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa.
- Lelonek's earlier works include Institute for Living Things (2016) and Zoe-therapie (started 2015).
- The project draws on cosmopolitical ideas from Isabelle Stengers and Bruno Latour.
- Konin's coal industry is expected to last only another thirty years, with no clear transition plan.
Entities
Artists
- Diana Lelonek
- Jakub Gawkowski
- Marcin Wysocki
- Anna Tsing
- Isabelle Stengers
- Bruno Latour
- Christophe Bonneuil
- Jean-Baptiste Fressoz
- Marek Nowak
- Miłka Stępień
- Sandro Mezzadra
- Brett Neilson
- Mel Evans
- Arthur Neslen
- Vinciane Despret
- Michel Meuret
- Ulrich Beck
- Peter Weibel
- Paweł Wątroba
- David Balzer
- Michalina Bednarek
Institutions
- ARTMargins Online
- University of the Arts Poznan
- Kraków Photomonth Festival
- Musée de l’Elysée
- Vordemberge-Gildewart Foundation
- Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art
- Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw
- Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź
- Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA)
- Polish Green Party
- Green European Journal
- United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24)
- CCA Kronika
- Greenpeace
- The Good Climate pavilion
- McDonalds
- Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa
- National Forests
- Guardian.com
- Polityka
- Canadianart.ca
- Magazyn Szum
- Rodríguez Gallery
- Ikea
- Verso
- MIT Press
- Princeton University Press
- Pluto Press
- Ecowarriorprincess.net
- Wyborcza.pl
Locations
- Konin
- Poland
- Kleczew
- Warsaw
- Poznań
- Oldenburg
- Łódź
- Riga
- Latvia
- Switzerland
- London
- Cambridge, MA
- Katowice
- Bytom
- Dąbrowa Górnicza
- Białowieża
- Europe