"I am, because we are" said the Sweet Thorn Acacia

The Sweet Thorn Acacia (Acacia karroo) is a pioneering tree and is a tree of life in its own right. It supports an incredible amount of insects, lichens and mosses which combined with its +-50 meter tap root can create nitrogen in the soil bringing life to barren areas such as the Karoo. This is why the Sweet Thorn Acacia is also a favourite plant for gardeners when addressing soil erosion and damaged soils.

This project was created using a diffusion model called Dall-E 2 which allows for image creation through text prompts. The artworks displayed were made through variations of the text prompt: “The Sweet Thorn Acacia that said: I am, because we are.” It is the artist’s view that the Sweet Thorn Acacia is an embodiment of the Ubuntu collective values.

Going to barren places such as Mars is a step in furthering humanity’s survivability, but this step is a tough engineering problem to solve and will require a diverse amount of people to achieve. This is why this project is advocating for the refocusing on areas where soil erosion and damage has occurred in our own backyard, South Africa and thus furthering our chances of success.

This project is imagined as an exhibition space within a panoramic photo of Mars captured by NASA’s Curiosity Rover. This digital exhibition is paired with Sunset Giant Marigold seeded paper prints of the works of art. The planting of these seeded papers is part of the project and will be recorded on final artwork printed on archival paper. This process takes inspiration from the Loblolly pine seeds that were carried aboard the Apollo 14 flight. These seeds were planted all over America and a number of these moon trees are still growing.

Song: "Ubuntu" by Hans Johnson

Images created using: DALL-E 2

(Screenshots) Artwork titles from top to bottom:

"Gister se Sprong Vandag se Skadu"

"In The Desert Acacia Leaves Share the Sun"

"Held Together By An Ubuntu Dance"

"The Sun Emits All Colours of The Rainbow"

"Globular"

"Die Doring, Die Mier, Die By, Die Blom"

"Naghemel in Vagevuur"