“The Seed that Grows” is a multidisciplinary project that began in 2003 as part of a group exhibition/installation entitled “La Graine qui Germe / The Seed that Grows” that took place at the American Can Building in Montreal, Canada. The exhibition theme embraced the role of artists to “plant a seed” towards imagining a better world.
At the invitation of the curator, Serena Kovalosky constructed a classical 7-circuit labyrinth at the center of the exhibition space, surrounded by sculpture and paintings from a juried selection of artists installed around the perimeter.
At the entrance to the labyrinth, visitors were invited to choose one of three types of seeds – corn, beans or squash – and contemplate on the power of a single seed to produce an abundance of nourishment as they walked the labyrinth.
At the center of the labyrinth was a gourd bowl where participants would leave their seeds, which would later be planted in a Three Sisters Garden in the Native American tradition, providing a lesson in interdependence and support. The cornstalks serve as natural poles for the beans to climb, the squash protects the ground from weeds and keeps it moist, and the beans fix the nitrogen in the soil for the corn and squash..
The seeds were planted in a community garden adjacent to the Montreal Botanical Gardens.
The Second Labyrinth
Serena continued the Seed that Grows Project with the construction of a winter labyrinth in 2005 at Skenesborough Park in Whitehall, New York as part of their winter festival. The seeds were planted in the spring at Soul Space, “a healing retreat for mind, body and soul” in Greenwich, New York.
Future Seed Projects
The Seed that Grows will be revisited in the next year or two with plans to expand the concept to allow participants the opportunity to get their hands in the dirt and take their seed all the way to harvest.
Serena Kovalosky 