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BRING ON THE FREE-THINKERS

Erika Yarrow finds inspiration, energy and optimism amongst arts and ecology experts at the University of Falmouth.

'Artful Ecologies 2', a three-day arts and ecology conference run by RANE (Research in Art, Nature and Environment) at the University of Falmouth, has left my head spinning with ideas, a vast reading list that covers psychology, ecology, politics, theology and, of course, the arts. But, above all, it has given me a feeling of optimism and a firm belief in the ability of humankind to create better ways of living.

This may be surprising when you consider the title of the keynote speech given by the cultural researcher and author, and co-founder of the Institute for Art, Culture and Sustainability in Berlin, Dr Hildegard Kurt, who opened the event with a lecture on 'Being an artist in a dying world.'  Not much room for optimism there you would think.  However, what came from her lecture was the elemental nature of change, that it is continuous and has a transformative effect.  The planet, nature, human life, all are evolving constantly.  Our cultural fear of death, ageing, change, is based on the ego.  Too easily we turn to ourselves.  With less emphasis on the 'self' - we are, after all, only part of the process of life - we can look at the world differently, engage in new ways and develop a new relationship with our environment.

It is true that the Earth is in crisis,  or rather, mankind's relationship with the planet on which he depends.  But we are capable of change.  The first step is to acknowledge fully the urgency and extent of change required.  Too frequently adaptation to climate change is discussed as part of an extended planning process, something to aspire to, a target to be met at some point in the distant future.  Few dare to speak of the speed and extent of change required and the possibility that Homo sapiens may not survive this challenge. 

Artist and activist John Jordan pulled no punches, during his presentation, relaying the message of the chief scientific advisor to Angela Merkel, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber - in the artist's own words of course - that unless we change radically our way of living in the next eight years 'the world ends in 2050.'  That is, the world's capacity to sustain human life.  The world can carry on without us just fine, after all.

Now this statement is not new to me.  But it is one that I push to the recesses of my mind in order to stay positive. I have often felt exasperated by the knowledge that global leaders know this and yet fail to act on or even discuss this possibility. And from experience, I too have learned to keep this secret, knowing that such utterances to friends and family leave those close to me thinking that I am either crazy or prone to exaggeration.  The truth is that no one wants to even consider the worst case scenario.  But here, in a room full of artists, I found people prepared to speak the unspeakable and that were optimistic of our ability to adapt.

John Jordan's work merges art and performance with activism and the social engagement of politics.  He is not concerned with representing a world in crisis, but with creating change.  He spoke with passion about his work. What struck me was the extent to which he and many others like him are prepared to go to save us from ourselves. In order to give future generations a chance, activists risk arrest, imprisonment, criminal records and police raids. 

Following William Morris in the tradition of art immersing itself in social activism, pre-figurative politics is central to John Jordan's work. 'We are not going to wait for the politics we want, we are going to create it now,' he says.  'What changes the world are stories that make our imagination come alive. The history of humanity may be terminated by too many acts of obedience.  We need militant optimism.'
 Jordan's form of activism is creative and engaging - people reclaiming the streets from cars and using them as commons, closing the M40 and planting saplings in the asphalt. One lasting image I have from the conference is that of a row of environmental activists dressed as clowns embracing a row of police.  This was footage of the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army.  By using clowning, Jordan and his rebel clan, break down dualisms and bring spectacle and play into the political arena.  The Climate Camps around the country give all concerned about climate change the opportunity to be creative, engaged and political.

Clowning is one method of divorcing oneself from the ego. For sound artist Max Eastley, an exploration to the High Arctic with Cape Farewell was a humbling experience that led him to question what it is to be a human being in the environment.  His recordings of bearded seals taken during this trip have a deeply moving, penetrating quality, which has the ability to communicate the primal relationship between man and his environment. 
 

Film-maker Andrej Zdravic described how he has managed to achieve an almost subservient relationship to nature in his work, allowing nature to control and command it. 'I am humble in the face of nature,' he says.  'When you look at volcanoes erupting you feel like you are witnessing the start of the world.'  He continues: 'I don't think you can preach ecology with words or talking about problems or threats of lost species.  These messages are striking, but they don't stick.'

There are as many kinds of artists as there are people and ways in which art can embrace the environment.  Brandon Ballengee's approach is science-based.  He is engaged currently in research into the possible causes of falling amphibian numbers and the increase in deformities to be found in them. Possible causes are parasites and compromised immune systems.

Unlike mammals, amphibians are immersed in the environment from day one and so are an important indicator of environmental changes and conditions.  The artist, as well as undertaking field studies, has created a wet lab at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park which is open to the public.  He has learnt to clear and stain specimens and is generating large-scale prints of these extraordinarily deformed creatures.
Whatever the approach, the majority of the artists giving presentations demonstrated a remarkable ability to look at a subject with fresh eyes.  Artist and environmentalist Alan Sonfist explains this by saying: 'Artists don't necessarily start a project knowing the formula.  They have to work out the formula.'

There is great value to be had from stepping back from our specialisms, exchanging ideas with those out of our sector, if only to realise that what we consider to be the norm, is not that to others.  Linda Weintraub an author, artist and curator based in New York, describes artists as 'free-radicals, disruptive forces, agents of change,' with a vital role to play in the face of climate change precisely because they do not have the protocols of other professionals. 

To prevent catastrophic climate change we need radical approaches, creative thinkers and new takes on normality.  How many times have we heard phrases such as 'think-outside-the-box' from people who are imprisoned by the language, structure and discipline of their profession?  Einstein said that we can not solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.  I say, bring on the free-thinkers.