Invasive plant species can tell us a lot about the history of imperialism. Long after they’re gone, the footprints of empires remain in their often devastating impact on indigenous biodiversity.
One example is the so-called Sosnowsky’s hogweed, a type of plant native to the Caucasus that was anthropogenically spread across the Baltics, Ukraine, Belarus and parts of Russia during the Soviet Union. It’s dangerous to humans as it can burn skin, but even more detrimental is its impact on environments it is not native to. The plant quite literally alters the soil compounds of those environments and in this way eradicates native flora.
Having worked closely with the Ancient Woods Foundation in Lithuania, artists Agnė Stirnė, Oskaras Stirna, and Eglė Plytnikaitė saw a parallel between the invasive plant’s impact on their native land, and the devastation Russia’s war has inflicted on Ukrainian biodiversity. As a result, the artistic trio created Invasive Species, an installation drawing on the visual and metaphorical similarities between hogweed and military destruction. The piece aims to place the spectator within an environment that has been devastated by war-inflicted ecocide.
Invasive Species was exhibited during the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July 2023.
