“This year the farm was invaded with large numbers of ghost moths, who were able to thrive because the winter had not been cold enough to allow for the growth of a particular fungus, which does the work of mitigating nest populations of this species. Aside from the blooms of white bodies fluttering around the entire premises of the land, their impact could be seen by the damage done to surrounding trees and foliage. This was detrimental to fruit production of our orchards and of natural trees. The subject of Orchard (Monoculture) has all of the signifiers of over-production and death - sparse and brittle leaves and barren at the base of the tree. The trees were still making an attempt to collect enough light to feed the disproportionately large fruits, all of whom were plush in size yet had compromised flavour and colour, necessary for their continued survival. Despite this, signs of surpassing growth were evident - baby trees sprouted in unexpected places, almost fully formed they were already producing fruits. I wanted to compress the simultaneous distress and persistence of the agricultural systems currently in place, while also bringing natural death cycles of plants into the conversation. Monoculture was an important addition to the title as it suggests the systemisation of these processes, an idealised and perfected machine - one that produced every human-desired vegetable or fruit, rendering all other life forms unnecessary.” - Kat Lyons, 2021