Stinging Narratives: Exploring Nettle Consciousness

Inspired by 1970s literature on plant consciousness, I aim to delve into the intriguing world of plant communication, with a focus on understanding the life and interactions of stinging nettles. The residency will serve as a creative laboratory, where I plan to experiment with visual arts, dance, ecological empathy, and poetic expression to capture and embody the essence of the stinging nettle. This period of experimental performance, coinciding with the spring emergence of nettles, will allow me to probe into their complex lives and the subtle communications within their community.

About the artist
Ieva Grigelionytė is an interdisciplinary artist who currently resides and works on the West Coast of Scotland. Her creative practice encompasses a diverse range of media—including sculpture, food, design, and performance—enabling rich, site-responsive explorations of landscapes in sensory forms. Grigelionytė's work extends beyond traditional exhibitions encompassing unique projects like curated lunches and multi-sensory food sharing events. Each project, whether engaging through the intimate language of taste or immersive experiences, is an exploration that intertwines space, objects, and flavours to evoke emotion and provoke contemplation on the unnoticed details punctuating our daily lives. Grigelionyte strives to illuminate these aspects in unexpected ways, providing her audience with fresh lenses through which to view our environment and our place within it. By reframing the commonplace, she seeks not only to alter perceptions but also to cultivate a renewed sense of wonder and curiosity, encouraging individuals to re-conceive their interactions with both the environment and themselves.

Follow Ieva Grigelionyte’s work

https://object-choreography.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/object_choreography/

About the programme
Earlier this year, Studio Somewhere put a call out for submissions to our Spring 2024 Studio Somewhere residency programme. We had four residencies available for artists based in Scotland. The residencies are opportunities for artists working in experimental performance to put an idea in motion or explore a new collaboration. We were looking for artists who wished to explore projects that raise interesting new questions relevant to our time, or innovative in approach to form.