Ilana Harris-Babou's new video Nature is Healing launches on the Istanbul Design Biennial site on November 22nd.
In Nature is Healing, Ilana Harris-Babou presents the imaginary correspondence of a character who has fled Brooklyn for the countryside during the Spring of 2020. The protagonist documents her failed attempts at self-sufficiency, her pursuits mimicking Instagram trends that surfaced in the early days of social distancing in New York City. She tries to grow a garden, keep scallions alive on her windowsill, make sourdough, and keep a journal. Each of her projects wilts or goes bad. In the end, she finds solutions to her problems that are as absurd as they are instructional. In turns humorous and melancholic, the work explores the pitfalls of avoidance in times of crisis, and the strategies we use to distract ourselves.
