Arctic Seed Vault
16.5"x22"
Acrylic paint on bristol board with deckled edge, floated in natural finish ash frame.
 
There is futility in the agrarian mind, and a garden past the end of our world.
 
This painting represents the moment, a half step before the end of our world. The name “Arctic Seed Vault” represents the moment, a half step after. An heirloom tomato plant grows from a pot adorned with fish, which are usually associated with abundance. Basking in the sunset, the plant sits on a balcony in an austere housing complex. Agrarianism is so ingrained in the human soul that without access to dirt, some people will pour all their effort into a single potted plant. The amount of time and resources invested may even heavily outweigh the value of the harvest. These things are done for satisfaction, not material value. However, as our climate changes, and as our populations burgeon,
agrarianism will face a host of challenges, like water scarcity and disease caused by monoculture, etc. How ironic that the agricultural revolution could be considered the root of climate change.
 
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a Norwegian gene bank on an island in the Arctic Sea. This facility is dedicated to the preservation of various seeds from all over the world. The ostensible reason for this is to provide security against the accidental extinction of food sources. The seeds are kept in stasis, never to grow unless a terrible loss of a cultivar. In many ways this vault represents the ultimate manipulation, humanity’s finite degree of control over nature. And when the people begin to fade away, some remnant of this thing might stay there in stasis.
 
-Dave, 2025