WILD RELATIVES

Synopsis

Jumana Manna’s new work draws lines between three distant spots on the world map: Syria, Lebanon and Svalbard. The lines chart a route and a complex network of relationships. ‘Wild Relatives’ exposes the exchange of ecological currency between two of the world’s grain banks, which are the archives of the smallest basic ingredient of agriculture: Seeds. Biodiversity, conflicts and international politics are parts of a game with perspectives reaching far out into the most distant future, and form the basis for a humourous and thought-provoking conversation between a priest and a scientist far out in the middle of nowhere. The protagonists in the game of the precious grains share a common understanding of the perspectives of their mission, which stretches beyond the unpredictable political present age that they are forced to navigate.

Director Biography

Jumana Manna born in 1987 in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. After studying at the National Academy of Arts in Oslo, she earned a master’s degree in Aesthetics and Politics from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, Los Angeles County, USA. Her works have been shown in exhibitions around the world.