Symposium
“Giant Hogweed – From Eradication to Nourishment, from Struggle to Care”
1014 Inc., New York
May 9, 2024

Organized by Adam Vačkář, this symposium at 1014 Inc. brought together artists, scientists, and theorists to reconsider the complex cultural and ecological narratives surrounding Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Introduced to Europe and North America in the nineteenth century as an ornamental botanical curiosity, the plant has since become emblematic of contemporary debates around biological invasion, environmental governance, and the politics of landscape.

Using Giant Hogweed as a point of departure, the symposium opened a multidisciplinary conversation about shifting environments and the evolving relationship between humans, plants, and technological systems. Each invited speaker approached the topic through the lens of their own expertise—ecology, environmental policy, art history, design, and artistic research—developing metaphors and reflections on how plant life, human societies, and technological infrastructures increasingly intersect. In this framework, Giant Hogweed functioned less as the central subject than as a shared reference point: a catalyst that allowed broader questions about migration, adaptation, biodiversity, and coexistence to unfold across different fields of knowledge.


Speakers

Bernd Blossey
Professor, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Cornell University

Abigail Pérez Aguilera
Assistant Professor, Environmental Policy & Sustainability Management, The New School

Harpreet Sareen
Professor, Synthetic Ecosystems Lab, Parsons School of Design

Barbora Bartůňková
PhD Candidate, Yale University, Provenance Specialist, The Museum of Modern Art

Isabella Indolfi
Independent Curator

Adam Vačkář
Artist, Researcher, PhD Candidate