Sigrún Erna Sigurðardóttir

The plant known as Annual Honesty (L. Lunaria annua) has always been a part of my life. My grandmother introduced it to me and I connect this plant with her. She grows the plant in her garden, the garden that once was ours. In the concept of Feng Shui the plant has good money energy if kept in a corner. A corner in a garden outside or a corner inside a space. My grandmother has bred Annual Honesty from the seeds of the same plant for over 50 years. Then she distributes the dried plants to her family and friends to share her honesty and fortune. The treasure is not necessarily money but it’s a kind gift wishing them prosperity. 

 

Recently I read the book The Secret Life of Plants (1973) where Cleve Baksters puts out his theories on how plants have feelings and remember the people around them. These theories piqued my interest and I asked myself if Annual Honesty remembers my grandmother. If so, will it remember me? How do pants feel, how do they experience their surroundings and those around them? 

 

In my project The treasure in Annual Honesty I put the plant into a public space in Reykjavík, Klambratún. It’s an interesting place for annual honesty; the park has many corners and thus many flowerbeds ideal for the plant. Klambratún being a public space gives both the plant and people the possibility to have an introduction to each other. So a lot of people could be introduced to the plant in its lifespan of two years. I have grown seedlings from my grandmother’s seeds and my wish is that they will live their whole life in Klambratún park. It will be interesting to see if the plant will be able to put down roots in Icelandic soil. It has all the bearings of persevering Icelandic conditions. I will also exhibit dried leaves from the seedpods of the plant in the windows of Kjarvalsstaðir. There, their transparency plays the lead role and their colors are understudies. With this piece I want to share the energy my grandmother and I feel from this precious plant. It could bring the public happiness and fortune as it has done for many years for me and my family.