[-empyre-] invasive species

[Lissette Olivares]

A curious lurker here invested in the discussion/actionism of both mycelium as collaborator and networked activisms, and although I (we) are somewhat overwhelmed by the intensity and breadth of the discussion, just wanted to add a few things. Love what Elaine offers, that the term non/native is itself a colonial binary that is violent. If we understand all earth beings as always already relational, which is becoming clearer through the collision and collaboration of a range of knowledges, from indigenous studies to science/speculative trans*feminisms, the task nonetheless remains, of how we might re-envision, re-make our shared agencies, this seems to be a common knot amongst many here. In our work the category of the human is already a troubled and recent taxonomic invention, it may undo these relational concerns more than highlighting them, although serious indigestion emerges when eschewing the human seems to reactivate this question of “elites” who are the ones accessing/intervening within these emerging discourses, yet, I (which is always already a relational we) feel like we have to really begin taking it, the human, and its shadow, Man, apart – historically, ideologically, and questioning if it’s a useful strategic essentialism. Wondering also where the limits of our relational kinship begin to fray. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that my/our concern for animals is constructed upon privilege. Initially I was thinking about this link between mycelium and activism, and thinking about how important more than just human activism is, how difficult it is, and wondering what kind of electronic disturbance tool could be invented in the service of the migrant animals and myriad others who are also becoming climate change refugees. What kind of poetry could mycelium write? In our recent work a unique way of sculpting mycelium with folded paper was commissioned from a recent architectural graduate, Luba Valkova, to help us create a transition home for squirrels in rehabilitation. It’s always seemed to me that our furry (and smooth) & feathered kin really appreciate how we use our hands to exchange affect, our opposable thumbs should be used in the service of fellow earth beings (thanks for the translation term Marisol de la Cadena) rather than as markers of human exceptionalism. Those children being separated from their families at the border deserve more from our hands, from our agencies, so do the turtles with the straws in their noses, as do the oceans being choked with plastics. There’s a new moon tonight. We will be whispering these hopes in their ear with drums, digital beats , and vocalized song.


Lissette Olivares
Co Director & Founder
Sin Kabeza Productions <http://www.sinkabeza.com/>
http://www.sinkabeza.com/architecture <http://www.sinkabeza.com/architecture>
Phone:(917) 213-9820
Email: liolivares at fulbrightmail.org




> On Jun 13, 2018, at 4:13 PM, Aviva Rahmani <ghostnets at ghostnets.com> wrote:
> 
> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> I am curious about specifics that record communication between species. The biological argument for conservation pivots around function- not when a species arrived in situ, but does it function within a niche that permits a sustainably stable ecosystem? The European point of view on this is far more liberal than the American. The former is open to millennia of migrations. The latter is more protective of individual species that might be outcompeted by newer arrivals, for example, how pasture grasses outcompete native orchids. I think some of those interactive records can be tracked with acoustic recordings and may be of interest. As far as listening, I have worked with systems such as Bernie Krause and Pauline Oliveros developed, and am about to participate in a water sonification workshop next week that will take place at the Hubbard Brook Reserve in New Hampshire comparing research from scientists, artists and policy makers on transposing the natural world algorithmically. The sonification systems I use combine Interpretive observations of satellite imagery and compositional software. I am interested in the specific means people are choosing to decipher the abstract relationships between species as they negotiate balance and place, not so much in arguments about terminologies, tho I honor the semantic implications of using the wrong words.
> 
> Aviva Rahmani, PhD
> www.ghostnets at ghostnets.com <http://www.ghostnets@ghostnets.com>
> Watch ³Blued Trees²:  https://vimeo.com/135290635 
> www.gulftogulf.org <http://www.gulftogulf.org/> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 6/13/18, 3:22 PM, "empyre-bounces at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au on behalf of Elaine Gan" <empyre-bounces at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au on behalf of eganuc at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>    ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu

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