FÄLTVANDRING/hur griper jag mig an min plats på jorden?
The Cultivation is a process-based work by Gunnel Pettersson that has moved between different locations and borrowed lands since 2007. The driving force is the experience of walking through a blooming field of the herb buckwheat. Asking questions about the agricultural landscape, developing a dialogue with various stakeholders, and practicing cultivation has become a way of life and a means to experiment with utopia – a cultivated landscape with greater biodiversity.
At Kivik Art Centre 2024, the title is FÄLTVANDRING/hur griper jag mig an min plats på jorden. It is possible to follow the cultivation process on site in the field. Visitors are welcome to participate in various interventions and activities, from sowing to harvest. Activities that depend on the weather and the development of the crops will be announced on our social media channels.
Buckwheat is currently on the rise in culinary arts, but in agriculture, changes are slow. What reaches the consumer is therefore imported. When agriculture scaled up production to meet the needs of a growing population, the diversity of crops also disappeared. The humble buckwheat, known as “the poor man’s grain,” which was grown on the leanest soils, was abandoned in favor of rye and wheat, which are more highly valued in Swedish food culture.
Buckwheat is an herb with white flowers, heart-shaped leaves and a red stem, related to rhubarb and sorrel, and originates from southwestern China. In Linnaeus’s 1749 survey of Skåne, it is noted that buckwheat was an important crop, especially in eastern Skåne. It is a staple in other food cultures around the world, used in galettes, blinis, soba noodles, or as roasted whole grains, for example in Ukraine and Poland. Buckwheat is gluten-free, a good source of minerals, rich in several B vitamins, and contains all eight essential amino acids.
Gunnel Pettersson
Gunnel Pettersson was trained at Konstfack, with further studies at the Royal Institute of Art. After moving to Glimminge Halls in Simrishamn, she began investigations of the agricultural landscape.
A visit to Japan sparked an interest in cultivated crops, with a focus on buckwheat, and in contributing to a more diverse agricultural landscape through knowledge of buckwheat cultivation.
Public engagement takes place both inside and outside the art institution, through cultivation, field walks, performances, exhibitions, and more. In 2024, a collaboration with Brunåkra Farm just outside Gislöv will begin.
The cultivation project has been featured in, among others ETC Solparken, Konstfrämjandet Kraft, Katrineholm 2023, Art Walk, Tjörnedala Art Hall 2023, Länk-Link-Linkki, Hanaholmen Cultural Centre for Sweden and Finland 2021–22, Österlen Museum 2020, Passagen, Linköping Art Hall 2019, and Experiment for Utopias Ystad Art Museum 2018.
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FIELD WALK/how do I grasp my place on earth is part of the project Cultivation.
For me, the driving force is walking through a blooming field with the herb buckwheat. It is about asking questions about the farming landscape and developing a dialogue with different actors. Cultivation practice has become a way of living and of experimenting with utopia – a cultivation landscape with greater diversity.
A relational investigative process method has emerged. The project has moved between different locations and borrowed land since 2007. Visits to the mother-in-law in Japan led to an exchange about the cultivation of buckwheat, which became a way to understand the Scanian cultural landscape as well.
At Kivik Art Centre 2024, it is possible to follow the cultivation process on site at the field until the harvest at the end of August. The field is located at coordinates 55.65463, 14.22503.
Various interventions and activities from sowing to harvesting, preparing flour and, for example, making noodles, are public. The landscaped walkways in the field provide an opportunity for field walking; to experience and understand the crop and the buckwheat herb in practice, also through a dance performance and a concert. The activities that depend on the weather and the development of the cultivation are advertised in social media.
Buckwheat is an herb with white flowers that is related to rhubarb and sorrel, is gluten-free and has high nutritional values. In Linné’s inventory in 1749 it appeared that there was a significant crop in eastern Scania served as porridge. The unassuming buckwheat called ”poor man’s seed” was grown on the leanest soil but was selected in favor of the more desirable rye and wheat. It is valued higher in other food cultures such as galettes, blinis, soba noodles or roasted whole kernels in Ukraine and Poland.
Welcome to visit the cultivated buckwheat field at Kivik Art Center near Svabesholm.
Gunnel Pettersson
Educated at Art Faculty with further education at the Royal Academy of Arts. After moving to Glimminge halls in Simrishamn, investigations of the cultivation landscape began.
A visit to Japan led to an interest in cultural crops with a focus on buckwheat and to contribute to a farming landscape with greater diversity through knowledge of buckwheat cultivation.
The public meeting takes place both inside and outside the art institution with cultivation, field trips, performance, exhibitions, etc. 2024 starts a collaboration with Brunåkra farm just outside Gislöv. The cultivation has made an impact, for example, in ETC Solparken, Konstfrämjandet Kraft, Katrineholm 2023, Art Walk, Tjörnedala art gallery 2023, Länk-Link-Linkki, Hanaholmen cultural center for Sweden and Finland 2021-22, Österlen museum 2020, Passagen, Linköping art gallery 2019 , Experiments for utopias Ystad Art Museum 2018.