The Everlasting Pea

THE EVERLASTING PEA

Both fable and ode to plants, The Everlasting Pea is a short film that explores our human relationship with the botanical world.

Narrated by the artist, the story moves between a scientist who anaesthetizes a pea plant, a pea plant that dreams of a time when it lived and thrived in the ruins of the Colosseum in Rome, and a colonial naturalist who uncovers a botanical mystery.

Inspiration for this work comes from two main sources: the true story of 19th century naturalist, Richard Deakin, who undertakes a survey of plant life in the ruins of the Roman Colosseum, and recent scientific research using anesthetized plants that questions our preconceptions of plants as passive greenery without agency or value beyond their service to humans.

How exactly the sedation of plants actually works is not yet understood, but plants can be anaesthetized just as animals and humans can be. The sleeping and waking effect can be revealed by time lapse photography and raises questions around the ‘consciousness’ of plants. Imaginatively taking this further, when a plant falls asleep, does it dream?

Through Deakin’s story we explore the links from an apocalyptic time in the Roman empire to the development of botany in Europe, to modern biology and ultimately to our turbulent ecological times, where the twin crises of climate and biodiversity make us aware of our precarious dependence on the planet.

In the gallery, a living pea plant completes the installation. The seeds were sourced from the gardens at Down House, Bromley UK – the home of Charles Darwin. Best known for his theory of evolution, Darwin was also a preeminent botanist. His gardens were his ‘living laboratory’ for his plant studies. He recognized plant intelligence and his ideas are even more prescient today.

"I wrote the script in tandem with imagining the visuals that would be created to tell the story (an evolutionary process of its own!). The images were then realized via a multitude of techniques. My house was turned into two different film sets. My molecular geneticist neighbour played the scientist. My husband Mark Bell created Richard Deakin's drawings and notes. I scanned and pressed plants from my garden and filmed backyard and living room tableaus. Most importantly, I would like to acknowledge my talented collaborators for their contributions to this work."

Performer: Rozy Razavi
CGI Animations: Mark Alberts
Cinematography: John Price
Macro, UV & Time-lapse Cinematography: Don Komaracheka
Music: Tom Third
Sound Design: Elma Bello

running time: 16:45

Supported by: The Canada Council for the Arts & The Ontario Arts Council



Su Rynard is a media artist with a body of work that spans nearly four decades. From her early video art to her feature films, Rynard has worked across a range of approaches: dramatic, experimental, documentary, and installation. Her interest in science, ecology and natural history has informed and inspired her recent projects. The National Gallery of Canada, The Canada Council Art Bank, and The Museum of Modern Art in New York have purchased and /or programmed Rynard's work. See Rynard's CV for complete film and video chronologies.

Rynard was born in 1961 in Toronto. She received an entrance scholarship to York University, and was awarded the George A. Reid Scholarship and the Melvile P. White Scholarship before graduating with honours from the Ontario College of Art in 1985. Rynard was a director resident at the Canadian Film Centre in 1996.