Stinging Nettle in Barcelona
This stinging nettle sprouted by the entrance of Can Masdeu, a stunning, vast and successful nowtopian experiment in the form of an anarchist squat within a 16th century leper hospital perched on a hill in the midst of Barcelona, Spain.
Can Masdeu, in Barcelona
This was one of the most perfect locations for the metaphor of my WEEDS project.
Like the stinging nettle, this community germinated without sanction or permission, and provides healing and precious nourishment. It does so for both its dwellers and the surrounding communities, through its vast vegetable gardens that are open to the neighborhood, their convivial social and cultural activities, their full and radical implementation of sustainable practices, and by their sheer example of what the world could be like. And like the stinging nettle, it has had to and will defend itself against uprooting, if necessary.
During my stay, I was kept hydrated with delicious stinging nettle tea while painting, and my thanks go to the whole community there for hosting, feeding, and inspiring me.
