Divining pollinators

DIV INI N G POL L INA TO R S

Jiayu Dai (Ashley) YUxuan Zhu (KIKI) Yujia Zhou

C on t e nt s

Project Introduction

New Mythological Content

Character Profile

Proje c t In t r o duc t io n The research site of Divining Pollinators is located in the north-eastern part of Crete, in southern Greece, and the project is based on the analysis of the pollination system of Crete and the problematic trends that have arisen in it, creating new myths about the pollination system with reference to real ecological problems that have already taken place, linking the geographic site to the mythological story using a physical model with a deck of character cards from the story.

The term myth mainly expresses a way of narrative , which can also be understood as an ancient scientific approach .

Divining Pollinators attempts to be a medium for dialogue between myth, ecology and art, exploring the relationships and changes between elements of the pollination system in the region's historical, present and future scenarios by bringing in the perspectives of bees, plants and wind，trying explores how we connect with and understand it, highlighting that these marginalised roles are changing.

D ivini ng Pollinators

New Mythological Content Fo l l o w the story to explore C r et e' s hi st or y , pr es ent and fut u r e . . . .

The winds, the winds of Crete, they always appear in pairs, but they also have their own dominant time periods.

The north wind, which is frequent in winter, the south wind, which dominates summer, the east wind in autumn and the west wind in early spring.

They sometimes don't arrive in the direction of due south and north; south winds will come from the south-east, south-west, and north winds will appear in the north-east and north-west.

They have different personalities but pride and selfishness is their common denominator, believing that everything in the world is given to them, always wandering around the world, pretending to be compassionate and giving humans what they need in the way of moisture, heat, and so on.

The meticulous north wind, which brings rain and moisture in winter, will take it back in summer; Tthe south wind that drifts across the sea bringing damp, sultriness and red rain; The east wind brings fruits that plants always look forward to, and she always comes and goes gently; Punctuality and impatience are the hallmarks of the west wind, and his rapid speed makes the plants on the mountain tops fear him.

The diversity of the plants of Crete is due to the climate they bring, and another important role is played here by the pollinators, the swarming bees.

Swarming bees, efficient, united, organised, but also cruel and indifferent.

Melisa, an insect messenger since the time of the Titans, can't remember the day when she discovered a strange race of bees in the flowers, a race she had never seen before in Crete.

Melissa, the plants governed by the Goddess of Harvest and the winds all worked together in a methodical way, any change on one side affecting the entire pollination circle like a butterfly effect. Such a pact has lasted for thousands of years, but recently it is not known which side made the first change, which affected the entire pollination circle.

[Newscast] Around the 1980s, the more productive Italian honeybee, Apis mellifera ligustica, gradually replaced the once endemic Cretan honeybee, Apis mellifera adami, in a process of selection by beekeepers, and the rapid expansion of this single species has led to a reduction in native species diversity, and increased the risk of the single species' adaptation level in the face of the climate crisis. The danger to the level of adaptation of this single species in the face of a climate crisis is also exacerbated.

The Goddess of the Harvest has recently discovered that the yellow plants, which seem to defy her authority in the plant world, are expanding rapidly, endangering the space for other plants on the island to grow and flourish.

But the Harvest Goddess is more concerned about not allowing situations to get out of her control, only then will she ensure that people will worship her and be grateful to her ....

[Newscast] Botanists have shown that Oxalis pescaprae is a herb that has invaded Crete from North Africa by an unknown route of invasion. It flowers in winter.

However, signs of delayed flowering have appeared in recent years, and the expanding growth field and the tendency to overlap flowering times with other plants pose a threat to plant diversity that cannot be ignored.

Human has always been customary to worship great power, and to try to guess the character and timing of the wind gods in order to pray for good weather, which was thought to be science.

But around 1800, the wind gods discovered that the wind towers had begun（began） to fall into disuse, the food on the altars had been rotting for a long time, the smell of the air had changed, and dark clouds of smoke would come out of the tubes in the earth,that means people abandoned the wind gods.

The south wind was the latest to become intolerable, and she began to draw in moisture and accentuate the heat without restraint. She knew that economics was humanity's greatest weakness right now. The ancient pact that needed to be broken for their co-operation still needed to be attacked one by one. While there had been times of extreme weather, the short duration was enough for the bees and plants to regulate themselves.

The Harvest Goddesses have found that the plants have no way to provide more nectar, the weather is either hot and dry or there is a lot of rainfall and flooding, and now they have to move like the cooler mountain tops in order to escape the heat and dryness of the heat.

Melissa: I understand your pain, but without nectar, the cold bees won't come to pollinate you, not to mention the strong winds at the top of the mountain will prevent the bees from flying to you, it seems your situation is just as bad as the bees are right now, I really don't know how much longer you can keep this up .....

Since the wind towers began to fall into disuse, people think they are in control of this world, they move plants indoors and create regular environments to maintain the food supply; the scientific community has begun to research machinery to replace natural pollination, and they humans seem to have every problem solved their way.

Melissa: O bees, do you think that as they gaze at a repetitive concrete box, experiencing the consequences of their human actions, that in the depths of their spirit they are also fantasising about what this land naturally once held.

Just when it seemed that all this had been done, she could not remember the day when Melisa found a strange bee in the flowers, and in the glare of the sun she couldn’t tell whether the bright light of the bee was a droplet of water on its wings or a reflection of metal , a race she had never seen in Crete...

In stories passed down from generation to generation, the magic of nature may never really fade. Perhaps, in the whispers of the wind and the rustling of the plants, lies nature's second chance for them to revive.

C harac te r P r o file

TH E EN D

Special thanks： Christina Geros Antonio del Giudice Eleftherios Alissandrakis Froso papadimitriou