Patricia Smith
Philadelphia, PA
pattysmithartist.com
fouquetandsmithcollaborations.com

So Many Seeds
2023
Woodblock/ Jacob’s Ladder
3 inches by 3 inches closed, 3 inches by 18 inches open

Artist Statement

Created in 2023, the book/object, So Many Seeds by Patty Smith and Claire Fouquet addresses the war in Ukraine through image, text and, structure. Upon opening the enclosure the viewer finds an original water color by Fouquet, of a sunflower, Ukraine’s national flower. When one removes the Jacob’s ladder from its box, two sides can be seen. The black and white images are of weapons of war intermingled with sunflower seeds. The color images are of sunflowers in bloom. The sunflower has long been an important part of the Ukrainian and global economy, as well as a symbol of peace. Since the war, beginning in 2022, it has taken on greater meaning, representing resistance, unity and hope and used internationally as a display of support for Ukraine.

When the Jacob’s ladder is manipulated the text is revealed, clarifying the images. Destruction and pain on one side, on the other, resilience and hope. When flipped again the narrative becomes mute, not unlike the media coverage that has diminished over time. The cascading of the object brings to mind how one action affects another as a war has global consequences. The title and parts of the text are inspired by a video dating from the start of the war in which an elderly Ukrainian woman encounters a young Russian soldier/occupier and offers him sunflower seeds, telling him to put them in his pocket so that his death on Ukrainian soil will yield “….Bright yellow sunflowers against a bright blue sky” (Jeremy Cliff, the New Statesman).

So Many Seeds was designed, printed and bound by the artists in an edition of 50. Each box is signed and numbered. When closed the book measures 3”x 3”. The images are woodblock prints on Arches paper and the text is inkjet on Evolon strips. The enclosure is a silk chemise with a ceramic sunflower seed for a clasp.