Alicia Escott

Bittersweet

2023

Medium: Found materials and original ink drawings on found plastic

Dimensions: Variable

Price: Upon request

Description: As an artist who works in the space of entanglements, this summer, returning to the east coast where I was born, I was drawn to a twisting climbing vine I would see along paths. I would quickly learn the vine was the notorious Bittersweet that has so impacted the forest there. A berry I grew up making holiday wreaths out of, Bittersweet, is the western name for a climbing vine indigenous to China, Korea and Japan. Widely considered invasive in North America (and the Northeast in particular.) Vilified locally these days, it was brought here as an ornamental plant. Its Chinese name translates to Southern Snake Vine, 南蛇藤. It’s a smart plant. Thriving in a time of upheaval and mass-extinction.