CRITICAL ZONES

I have become increasingly aware of a term known as the ‘Critical Zone’. According to Bruno Latour (French philosopher), ‘critical because it is far from equilibrium; because it is fragile; because it is disputed; and because it is an interface between the deep earth below and the vast expanse of space above’. He speaks about the zone as a largely unknown entity. It differs from what we call nature, and it is not what we see when we view the Earth from space. The Critical Zone is only a few kilometres up and a few kilometres down from the surface of the Earth. It is the totality of our limited world, a thin skin that contains all known life forms, fragile, sensitive and complex.

There are scientists, philosophers and artists whose focus is shifting from up and out to the terrestrial. Understanding that we have lost our knowledge of the land and our place in it really resonates with me. We don’t know where our food comes from, our commodities are made somewhere globally and transported from afar and the throw away attitude has become a serious issue. Many have lost a connection to what constitutes the importance of sustaining life. Is it that for too long our focus has been on the notion of distant relationships with globalisation, of colonial takeover to gain wealth for some, devastation for others and the desire to explore the far reaches of outer space at the cost of losing the skills and knowledge of preserving the lifeforms where we inhabit? Is it time to move to a more terrestrial state of mind, as I believe many of the younger generation are doing today?

I am privileged to have the opportunity to be the custodian of a patch of land. As I spend more time with it my respect increases and realise we need to share this space with all living things. Through my artistic practice, I endeavour to to see nature, to learn about the soil, and to understand how the use of land has changed over time.

There is an exhibition at KZM that is on at the moment in a virtual capacity called ‘Critical Zones’. It acknowledges a movement towards the soil and new attention to the ways people might inhabit it. Bringing together scientists, artists, activists, politicians and citizens to one platform, the exhibition ‘Critical Zones’ gives us insight from many points of view to the ‘critical situation of the Earth and explores new modes of coexistence between all forms of life’.

See Critical Zones: Observatories for Earthly Politics, Sat, 23.05.2020 – Sun, 08.08.2021

https://zkm.de/en/exhibition/2020/05/critical-zones

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON THE 21 JANUARY 2021