14 August
2006 - Mexico — John Lundberg, a professional
cropcircle maker talks about his latest work,
a giant question mark in a maize field in Mexico
and working with us.
"For years I'd thought
that crop circles would be an ideal medium for
promoting Greenpeace's genetic engineering (GE)
campaign. The crop circles generate an alien mystique,
encouraging people to consider the unknown.
Greenpeace's GE campaign aims
to prevent alien organisms from contaminating
our plants and food, while raising awareness of
the unknown consequences that could arise from
such material entering the food chain.
This combination of mystery,
creativity and an underlying message perfectly
reflects the work that Greenpeace is doing worldwide.
It was also embodied in the formation we created
for them - a 65 meter (200 feet) circle with a
question mark at its centre."
Why a question mark?
"For thousands of years,
maize (corn) has been an essential food for the
people of Mexico; it also plays an integral part
in their culture and religion. Unfortunately,
in recent years the maize has been tainted by
GE varieties entering the country and being planted
by unaware farmers. As a result, normally GE-free
maize is showing signs of genetic contamination.
So the question mark conveys
a simple message - contamination is happening,
but nobody knows exactly where it is taking place,
nor where it could lead for the wider environment.
A day after our crop circle
creation we were transported to a tiny village
called Cuanajo in the state of Michoacan. A celebration
was held to honour the regions GE free status.
The festival was an amazing cultural experience,
each type of maize has a purpose. Maize for tortillas,
tamales, atoles, pozole, animal feed and also
to create handcrafts which they sell in market
stalls.
Protecting this precious diversity
is paramount for the people, regional government,
scientists and environmental groups who have all
worked together to cement the region as GE free.
Other surrounding regions are also interested
in following this example to create their own
GE free zones.
The more I find out about the
issues surrounding GE, especially within Mexico,
the happier I am to have been involved in this
project. With literally thousands of different
strains of maize in Mexico, it's vitally important
for both its people, and the rest of the world,
to keep the seeds clean and maintain their variety.
Working with Greenpeace in Mexico
was a rewarding and fun experience - even during
the rainy season! Circlemakers hope to continue
our relationship with Greenpeace and I also hope
that Mexico can successfully rid itself of genetic
contamination and keep its maize GE-free."
Crop circle makers from left
to right: Robert Irving, John Lundberg, William
Russell, Mark Pilkington
John Lundberg is a British artist and documentary
filmmaker. In the early 11000s he founded Circlemakers,
a UK-based arts collective famous for covertly
creating hundreds of the world's most spectacular
crop circles.
The formations crafted anonymously
by John and his collaborators have created headlines
around the world. Eventually Circlemakers began
to be approached by companies asking if they could
create crop circles to be used in TV shows, movies,
music videos, adverts and PR stunts.
They've created crop circle
in the UK, US, New Zealand, Japan, across continental
Europe and now in Mexico.
More info at www.circlemakers.org
