There are many definitions of invasion: invasive species, Colonialism, the usurping of power. How does an artistic approach and a scientific approach both work to mitigate the effects of what harms the culture?

Catalyst Conversations, in partnership with The Boston Public Art Triennial, presents Triennial artist Adela Goldbard in conversation with Evolutionary Biologist Michael LaScaleia and Charles Davis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Our speakers will be exploring the idea of invasive species from different lenses, allowing us to experience Goldbard’s sculpture in a new and exciting way.

Adela Goldbard is an interdisciplinary artist-scholar based in Rhode Island and Mexico City, Adela Goldbard (b. 1979) creates politically charged, collaborative works that culminate in the burning of large-scale effigies. Her upcoming public pyrotechnic performance—set to take place at City Hall on September 4th—features an effigy constructed from invasive reeds gathered across the Americas. Engaging migrant and local weavers, musicians, Uros artisans from Lake Titicaca in Peru, and master pyrotechnicians from Mexico, the piece offers a powerful anti-colonial counterpoint to traditional U.S. patriotic fireworks displays. Key collaborators include the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the Artsumex collective, and artist Aymar Ccopacatty.

Researcher Michael LaScaleia works to determine why our native New England caterpillars are failing to control populations of invasive, exotic plants. He uses the Harvard Arboretum’s extensive living collections to identify what sets invasive plants apart from others when it comes to resisting herbivory. Hopefully, this research will allow us to find safer, more effective methods for protecting our native ecosystems from invasion.

Professor Charles Davis's research focus on plant diversity integrates the disciplines of systematics, paleobiology, evolution, ecology, and molecular biology. One major theme that unites these disciplines is phylogenetic theory, which is applied to reconstruct the history of plant diversity through evolutionary time.