The concept of “third nature” is proposed by Anna Tsing to describe what survives in spite of voracious capitalism. This notion builds on William Cronon’s usage in Nature’s Metropolis, in which he describes “first nature” to mean ecological relations (including humans) and “second nature” to refer to capitalist transformations of the environment. As political and ecological systems often serve the interests of capitalist gains, it is unclear as to what will remain or persist if these systems fail. Tsing’s book The Mushroom at the End of the World (2015) uses the matsutake mushroom—said to be the first thing to grow in the bombed landscape of Hiroshima—to theorize survival, and renewal in precarious times.

The work presents a symbolism that runs counter to a national pride; the flag is not large and strident in the midst of a manicured lawn, but small and fallen among weeds to be pulled. It is not flowers (or other decorative flora) that sprout from the framed structure, but mushrooms—a fungal variety that arises from seemingly undesirable conditions.

The image was photographed while on a walk through the the University of Kansas campus. Whether or not the weed growing around the collapsed flag is cannabis is inconclusive, and not an interest of ours (the question has been asked often).