Camila Marambio

Pompeada – Ensayo #1

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WHEN

February 22, 2023 – March 1, 2023

WHERE

Borikén, Puerto Rico

WHAT

For one week Michelle Lobo, Camila Marambio, and Bárbara Saavedra got to know Para La Naturaleza (PNL) by being led on an Ecodetour through some of the organization’s natural protected areas: kayaking through red dwarf mangroves at Medio Mundo y Daguao, listening to orchestra of coquís at Las Lunas, visiting the exhibition Flora Borinqueniana at MUSA in Mayagüez, being guided through the devastating colonial history of Hacienda La Esperanza, and learning about PNL’s visions of how to further ecological culture thanks to talks with Carlos Andrés Rodriguez, Elizabeth Padilla, Fernando Lloveras and a handful of talented environmental interpreters.

Pumped or pompea (in Boricua), Michelle, Camila and Bárbara digested the shared experiences as they planned for La Fiesta de Ensayos– to be celebrated in December 2023 during the last month of Camila Marambio’s residency at PNL. The fiesta will bring Ensayistas together to reflect on the past 12 years and workshop the future, during which we will map out the existing governance structure of Ensayos, using as a comparative case study PLN/ CTPR to fully understand Ensayos’s transdisciplinary/decolonized/ecofeminist practice and visions. With this in hand we will begin to draft a new governance document that builds on Ensayos’ existing web of inspiring local projects. And, finally la fiesta will share some of our findings to promote protocols of joy and biodiversity.

WHY

  • Biodiversity is always systemic.
  • Biodiversity cannot be separated from culture/ people.  People rely on biodiversity and conservation decisions are made by people.  
  • Multi scale – life works this way.  It is a set of structure and processes that are linked at different scales, produce outcomes/ products that are different at different scales–the scale of a body, an ecosystem, an archipelago, a continent, the biosphere.  We need to understand what the links are at each level.
  • Our perceptions are informing these processes and understanding.
  • There is no healthy human community without healthy ecosystems. 
  • How do we define healthy ecosystems?  We need to open spaces for communicating about that. 

WHO

Michelle Lobo / Camila Marambio / Bárbara Saavedra

HOW

Thanks to the Para La Naturaleza; additional funding from Habitat.

–photos by Camila Marambio, Bárbara Saavedra, Carlos Andrés Rodríguez

Olla común

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preparada por Camila Marambio y Bárbara Saavedra este Martes 28 de Febrero, 2023 6-8pm, 155 Calle Tetuán, Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico

La Residencia de Para la Naturaleza

Para la Naturaleza tiene como misión la sustentabilidad de las islas de Puerto Rico y su resiliencia ante la crisis climática. Somos parte del plan de país comprometido con lograr la protección del 33% de su patrimonio natural, mientras apoyamos la preservación de su legado histórico y cultural, y el rescate de una cultura ecológica que asegure la salud de sus ecosistemas naturales y humanos.

Uno de los pilares centrales de esta misión es provocar experiencias transformadoras que fomenten las intersecciones entre ciencia, arte y naturaleza, por lo que hemos puesto en marcha el programa La Residencia. Centrado en procesos de investigación y creación de estos  tres pilares de la humanidad, Para la Naturaleza recibe un o una artista por un año y le apoya en su producción cultural. Los incesantes cuestionamientos y la búsqueda del bienestar humano fungen como los catalizadores más poderosos del proceso creativo. Entendemos que esta alianza transmitirá un mejor entendimiento sobre la importancia de la conservación de la naturaleza y cómo las ideas y acciones audaces son necesarias para alcanzar nuestras metas.

Esperamos que esta residencia sea una colaboración continua con artistas locales e internacionales para seguir creando redes y educando sobre el inequívoco vínculo entre la ciencia, el arte y la naturaleza. 

Artista Residente 2023: Camila Marambio

Camila Marambio vive y trabaja en Chile, es investigadora y curadora, profesora adjunta del programa de magíster interdisciplinario de la Universidad de Nuevo México, Confluence, y fundadora del programa de investigación eco-cultural en Tierra del Fuego, Chile, Ensayos. 

Obtuvo una maestría en Estudios Críticos de la Universidad de Columbia, Nueva York (2004) y otra en Experimentos en arte y política de Sciences Po en París (2011). Fue curadora asistente en Exit Art (NYC) entre 2003 y 2005, participó en el Programa Curatorial en el Appel Arts Center en Ámsterdam entre 2006 y 2007 y fue curadora de Matucana 100 (Santiago, Chile) entre 2008 y 2010. Es doctora (PhD) en práctica curatorial de la Universidad Monash en Melbourne, Australia (2019) y fue investigadora postdoctoral del Royal Art Academy de Estocolmo (2021).

Su trabajo como curadora independiente dio forma a La Cumbre Aconcagua, una serie de confabulaciones sobre el futuro del agua organizada por el Instituto Cisneros, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2020), y al Meth(odoloy) Lab en el Instituto de Arte Moderno (Brisbane) dentro de la muestra retrospectiva del dúo sueco Goldin+Senneby.

El trabajo de Ensayos −que ha tomado forma de exhibiciones, performances, afiches, residencias, una plataforma ciudadana binacional para el cuidado de turberas de Patagonia, un acuerdo internacional para la protección de las turberas globales e incluso un olor− ha sido representado en exposiciones, foros y festivales internacionales. Más recientemente, inspiró el pabellón de Chile en la 59va Bienal de Venecia en Italia (2022), curado por Camila.  

La escritura teórica y creativa de Camila ha sido extensamente publicada. Su primer libro Slow Down Fast, A Toda Raja escrito junto a Cecilia Vicuña fue publicado por Errant Bodies Press, Berlin el 2019 y Sandcastles: A Queer Femme Proposition, escrito junto a la teórica danesa Nina Lykke, será publicado a mediados del 2024. Como editora, Camila está asociada con Carla Macchiavello (CM2). Juntas han publicado 3.5 números del periódico Más allá del fin y en junio del 2023 se publicará Turba Tol Hol-Hol, libro que coeditaron. 

Invitada especial

Bárbara Saavedra (1966, Valparaíso, Chile) es bióloga y ecóloga, promotora del reconocimiento, valoración y protección del patrimonio natural de Chile a través de iniciativas de conservación de biodiversidad.

Es doctora por la Universidad de Chile en Ecología y Biología Evolutiva (2003). En 2005 Bárbara asumió la dirección de Wildlife Conservation Society en Chile, y desde entonces ha liderado la creación de diferentes herramientas de conservación incluyendo: la implementación del Parque Karukinka en la Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego que protege los mayores y mejores bosques existentes en el Mundo a esa latitud, las mayores superficies de turbera en la Provincia, hábitat de una diversidad de fauna y flora de valor ecológico; la creación del Área Marina Costera Protegida de Múltiples Usos en el Seno Almirantazgo -adyacente al Parque Karukinka- , la primera de este tipo en Tierra del Fuego, de gran riqueza endémica y alta productividad biológica. Bárbara también ha promovido el establecimiento del Fondo Naturaleza Chile, siendo su actual presidenta, un esfuerzo público-privado para levantar financiamiento para la conservación efectiva de las áreas marinas protegidas de Chile, de la mano de las comunidades en los territorios; y la creación del Comité Capital Natural, una herramienta para incorporar la biodiversidad y su conservación en el modelo de desarrollo chileno, entre otras.

Bárbara participa activamente en diferentes grupos, como Ensayos y la Sociedad de Ecología de Chile donde ha promovido la ley que crea el Servicio de Biodiversidad y Áreas Protegidas; y ha participado en diversos Consejos y organismos relacionados al medioambiente, así como diversas fundaciones de conservación locales.

RE-PEAT invites you to the Venice Agreement Poster Competition

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Signed on June 2, 2022, The Venice Agreement represents a commitment by peatland custodians from around the world to change the trajectory of the ecological and cultural
management of these wetland ecosystems. The Venice Agreement sets a new standard for the valuation and practice of protecting and restoring our planet’s peatlands at the local level.

RE-PEAT INVITES YOU to join in the effort to spread the word globally and inspire people to protect their local peatlands by printing out the Venice Agreement Poster and putting it up in the most unexpected or impactful places you can imagine. And sent the photo back to them to participate in the competition.

***The best photo wins a pair of wellies! To explore the local peatland without getting your feet wet.***

HOW TO:


1. Download the Venice Agreement from here and print it out.

2. Find the most unexpected or impactful places you can imagine and take a photo of the Venice Agreement there.

3. Upload here it until the 2nd of March 2023.

Bitácora de Residencia Campo Garzón, Uruguay

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Por Rosario Ureta

Participé el pasado mes de diciembre en la residencia CAMPO AIR en el Pueblo Garzón, Uruguay. Se trata de un pueblo rural donde actualmente viven 170 personas y está lleno de “taperas” o casitas abandonadas. En algún momento el pueblo tuvo un molino y una estación de tren por lo que se construyeron muchas casas, pero cuando dejaron de funcionar el molino y la estación, la gente se fue llendo y el pueblo fue quedando en el olvido, algo que lo hace muy característico. En este lugar se instaló la fundación CAMPO a hacer residencias y un festival de arte anual, del que participamos lxs artistas, diseñadorxs y chefs invitadxs, para mostrar en las taperas nuestra investigación luego del mes de residencia.

Este año la curaduría del festival se basó en los “Efectos Ferales”, concepto que usa la antropóloga Ana Tsing para describir los efectos no pensados de la acción humana en la naturaleza. En mi caso, llevo un tiempo investigando el rol del diseño en la divulgación científica y su potencial como herramienta en la conservación de la biodiversidad. Conocí hace un tiempo a las turberas, que son humedales que, a pesar de cubrir un espacio terrestre muy pequeño, son indispensables para la mitigación del cambio climático en el planeta, por la regulación hídrica que hacen al ser humedales y porque absorben y almacenan más carbono que todos los bosques del mundo.

La evidente urgencia de conocerlas y conservarlas me llevan a preguntarme cómo el diseño puede ser una herramienta en la visibilización de estos ecosistemas tan importantes. Esta fue la pregunta-paragua para el trabajo que realicé durante la residencia. En la instalación que hice para el festival quise representar a las turberas como contenedoras o recipientes de agua. El contenedor como agente y forma me permitió hacer un cruce entre el rol de las turberas en la naturaleza y las agencias de los materiales que usé: cera de abejas y arcilla. En el taller que me armé en la casa donde nos quedamos, pude probar el uso de la cera para impermeabilizar los contenedores de arcilla, volviéndolos capaces de sostener líquido. Pude ver cómo estos objetos -dependiendo del uso y proporción de los materiales- interactuaban con el agua. Esta observación de los materiales y sus agencias como contenedores intuitivamente remitieron a la pregunta inicial: cómo visibilizar estos ecosistemas mediante el diseño, mediante materialidades y sensibilidades que nos permitan entender su importancia. En la tapera instalé diferentes contenedores, algunos de cera, algunos de arcilla y cera, todos con agua en su interior que se iba vaciando lentamente por las filtraciones y goteos que los materiales permitieron. El sonido del goteo, el piso mojado, el aire húmedo y el suave olor a miel (por la cera de abejas) generaron un ambiente de templanza y contención, un encuentro sensible con las turberas, una forma diferente de familiarizarse con ellas y comprender que son nuestras profesoras, que nos enseñan y entregan el don de contener al mismo tiempo que nos muestran su fragilidad.

Laying Low – Ensayo #6

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WHEN

November 29th – December 4th (Brisbane) and December 5th- December 15th (Minjerribah)

WHAT

Ensayistas met in Meanjin (Brisbane, Australia), where the Australian research pod has been working with University of Queensland Art Museum (UQAM) to present our ongoing work highlighting the necessity of global peatland protection.

Ensayistas from Norway and Chile joined the Australian pod to celebrate the gifts of scent that contributed to the multisensory experience of Turba Tol Hol-Hol Tol the Chilean Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale. These scents, along with sound and text works, were re-presented in the UQAM exhibition ‘Oceanic Thinking’, charting the interconnected and diverse ecosystems of each research pods local peatlands. As these two exhibitions were coming to a close, we performed an ‘open ending’ through word play, peatland sounds, poetry, a letter, a score, a poster – SMELL YOUR BOG, SMELL MY BOG, BOG IS GOOD.

Before heading to Minjerribah for a 10-day collective residency, we met with UQ researchers Nisha Mohamed Ramdzan and Jennifer Cooling to view peat cores and pollen samples from Minjerribah peatlands and learn about their palynology research (study of pollen and spores) on the unique subtropical sand island and further afield in Tasmania and Indonesia. We were also lucky to catch a whiff of Pink Manor Decant Club’s Smell Library at Wreckers ArtSpace – a perfect place to inspire our olfactory explorations.

On the mainland, before getting on the ferry, we met with Tania Kromoloff and Una Sandeman from Australian Conservation Foundation Community Bayside. They guided us on a walk along the bayside to show us the potential detrimental impacts of the Toondah Harbour development proposal that spans over 40 hectares of ramsar protected mudflats. The proposal is currently undergoing a Federal level Environmental Impact Assessment process for which they have received over 25,000 submissions.

Our first week on Minjerribah involved some important introductions to places, creatures and stories that inspired the Australian gift of scent. We swam, wrote poetry, made drawings of peatland beings we encountered, shared meals, pitter pattered around the edges of the patterned fens and attuned with a lagoon thought to be 200,000 years old. We continued to play with words and language, learning through etymology about evolving perceptions of peatlands as dangerous and dark – posing a threat of getting ‘bogged down’.

It wasn’t until fellow Ensayista and ecologist, Renee Rossini, joined us in the second week that we allowed ourselves more intimacy with the peat formations that, until then, seemed distant. Our bodies floating in the seemingly bottomless black pool surrounded by spongey organic walls offered new insights about the subtropical sand island fens. Through immersion into textures, temperature, movement, and scent we began to grasp the hydrological, chemical and biological processes at play.

In the second week, we participated in The Clam’s Kiss | Sogi a le faisua: Summer Workshop at Moreton Bay Research Station organized by UQ Art Museum. We were fortunate to experience a welcome to country by Aunty Margaret Kucirek at Lake Bummeria. Sonja Carmichael introduced the group to changing emphasis of North Stradbroke Island Museum to acknowledge its location on unceded Quandamooka lands and to properly engage with, document and display the 25,000 years + of Quandamooka history, colonisation and the complex shared history of less than 200 years of living together on Minjerribah. Leecee and Freja Carmichael presented their curatorial and artistic projects that are deeply embedded in their Quandamooka Country and culture. Renee Rossini guided low tide walks across the saltmarshes. For the workshop closing, we re-performed ‘open ending’.

We co-dreamed future possibilities, some already becoming reality.

WHY

Because the gift of scent is a gift that keeps on giving.

Because open endings are uncertain and therefore full of possibilities.

Because we want to get down into the bog. Because connecting with knowledge held in the archives of peat brings us closer to the archives within our own bodies.

Because its ok to lay low. Even better to lay low together.

WHO

Caitlin Franzmann, Camila Marambio, Freja Carmichael, Karolin Tampere, Leecee Carmichael, Renee Rossini, Simon Daniel Tegnander Wenzel and Sonja Carmichael

HOW

Thanks to an invitation to be part of Blue Assembly at the University of Queensland Art Museum by curator Peta Rake and ongoing support of the UQAM team, including education manager, Jacquie Chlander and curatorial assistant, Isabella Baker. Thanks to the generosity of the Franzmann family, especially Peter and Kathy. Thanks to the hospitality of the Carmichaels whose strong and soft ways teach us how to lay low and be proud.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. Additional support has been provided by OCA Office of Contemporary Art Norway.

The Clam’s Kiss | Sogi a le faisua: Summer Workshop at Moreton Bay Research Station

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Mon 12 Dec 2022 10:00am–Tue 13 Dec 2022 5:00pm

Ensayos was invited to take part in this free Summer Workshop on Quandamooka Country and to re-perform Opening Endings at the close of the second day.

The Clam’s Kiss | Sogi a le faisua is a multilingual journal dedicated to forms of transoceanic relation, creativity, and knowledge, edited by Curatorial Researcher-in-Residence Dr Léuli Eshrāghi with Senior Curator Peta Rake.

The journal shares essays, reflections, interviews and poems in the spirit of the ceremonial and political practices of reciprocity and affirmation evidenced in the sogi practice (shared breath of life or ritualised kiss); a practice common across many Great Ocean cultures but restricted in a time of planetary health crisis. Together with select contributors to the publication, participants will read and discuss these important texts in an interdisciplinary gathering of UQ graduate students, early career researchers and select local and international colleagues. 

Venice Post-Agreement Meeting

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The first meeting since the signing of The Venice Agreement took place online on December 6th, 2022. It was a lively two-hour reunion during which we reconnected, re-visited the foundations of our agreement, remembered our commitments (or made new ones), and co-defined how we will measure the success of the VA.

We asked those who attended the Venice meeting to prepare by thinking about the last session we had, where they were asked to make some commitments regarding the agreement. The signatories who were not in Venice but participated remotely through the on-the-ground workshop toolkits, we requested they answer the following question: What have you done since June that was inspired and/or directly reinforces the the Venice Agreement? This could be absolutely anything, from telling friends and colleagues about the Agreement to organizing a meeting with government representatives to promoting the protection of a local peatland. All contributions to peatland protection and conservation are important and welcomed!

During the meeting we discussed ambitions and indicators for measuring our achievements. All of this data will inform an upcoming VA report that will also include the photos from the VA challenge envisioned by Re-Peat. Keep your eyes peeled!

Open Ending at the University of Queensland Art Museum

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1 December 2022 5:30pm–7:15pm

University Drive
Saint Lucia, QLD, 4072

In this live performance, Ensayistas from Norway, Chile, and Australia invigorated the sounds, scents, and feelings imbued in their ongoing peatland conservation work. Molecules of multi-species language and fragrance were shared so that each body leaving the exhibition carried the possibility of more stories to tell.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. Additional support has been provided by OCA Office of Contemporary Art Norway.

Sea Change Symposium: Transformative Currents For Action

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November 11 & 12, 2022 Orange County Museum of Art

Camila Marambio, curator of Ensayos, will be participating in this hybrid (both in-person and online) symposium—two days of talks, panel discussions and offsite programs—to mark the culmination of two years of research as part of the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time: Art x Science x L.A. initiative. Sea Change Symposium:

Transformative Currents for Art and Action in the Pacific Ocean gathers international artists, art historians, curators, writers, scientists, and community organizations to examine art’s potential to enact positive ecological change in the Pacific Ocean, while simultaneously addressing the ongoing effects and historical causes of cultural and environmental devastation.

To RSVP for the symposium, both in-person or online, please email Ziying Duan at zduan@ocma.art

Smell My Bog

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Students in the University of New Mexico’s Confluence Interdisciplinary MFA took an Art & Ecology course with Christy Gast and Camila Marambio, who teach collaboratively as part of Ensayos, during the fall of 2022. The course focused on peatland conservation, which is the foundation of Ensayo #6. Students learned about peatland ecology through a field trip to Addison Bog in Glastonbury, CT, and created fragrances inspired by Ensayos’ Smellscape project for Turba Tol Hol Hol Tol, the Chilean pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale. During the course, we created hydrolates of swamp cabbage, white pine and hemlock in a copper alembic. For their final project, students collaboratively responded to a fragrance design brief.

Fragrance Brief

Create a “gift of scent” that tells the story of a bog, wetland or ecosystem of your choosing–a place that is accessible to you, that you feel drawn to, that you already care for or you want to know more about and share. Consider permissions, protocols and land acknowledgments specific to your “place”.

Your “gift of scent” can take any form as long as it can be sent in the mail. Your audience will be one other student in the course. Your gift should include a postcard-sized text with instructions or a brief statement about the piece. Include the title, materials and something about the process if that adds to the story. It can be a multiple of two with an artist’s proof. 

Results

On Sept. 10 we met as a group on Zoom for the unboxing. The students prepared the collective post in PDF format below, which documents their places, processes, the unboxing and their thank you notes.

Gift-of-Scent-Ensayos-Blog-Post-

Don’t miss out on the weird and wonderful peatland-centred festival, Peat-Fest 2022!

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Peat-Fest is an annual festival organised by youth-led group RE-PEAT that explores all-things-peat. The theme for Peat-Fest 2022 is the Rights of Peatlands, with the programme including various talks and workshops exploring and building a notion of the Rights of Peatlands. Ensayos will be leading the session the final session on Sunday the 4th of September at 18.30-20.30 CEST online. You can sign-up via this link! 

Peat-Fest this year builds on the Rights of Nature movement – an emerging global movement which uses legal frameworks to demand official acknowledgement of the inherent right of the living world to exist, to be restored, and to be free from destruction. Peat-Fest will explore all sorts of ideas connecting to this movement – Join the Fest and dive deep into the peat!

Peatlands are some of the most valuable resources on the planet. They are habitats for valuable species, climate warriors, nourishers and cultural spaces. Unfortunately, they are often viewed as ‘wastelands’ and consequently, destroyed. RE-PEAT is a youth-led organization pushing for a re-shaping of this narrative. Peat-Fest is a manifestation of this desire. This year it is a 6-day global and virtual festival dedicated to exploring the subject through music, art, conferences, games, etc. Tune in from the 30th of August!

The Venice Agreement: Signed!

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June 2nd, 2002, Venice, Italy—Ensayos, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Chile, and the Michael Succow Foundation, partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, are pleased to announce the signing of The Venice Agreement during a historic assembly on June 2, 2022, World Peatlands Day. The Venice Agreement represents a commitment by peatland custodians from around the world to change the trajectory of the ecological and cultural management of these wetland ecosystems towards effective conservation. By taking a bottom-up approach that recognizes local initiatives as key collaborators in the international process of peatland conservation, The Venice Agreement sets a new standard for the valuation and practice of protecting and restoring our planet’s peatlands at the local level. 

Developed during a two-day meeting at TBA 21’s Ocean Space, The Venice Agreement was born from the transdisciplinary work of Ensayos and WCS-Chile, supported by the Greifswald Mire Centre. Camila Marambio of Ensayos curated the project and was supported in design and organization by Bárbara Saavedra, Nicole Püschel, and Antonieta Eguren of WCS-Chile, with Susanne Abel and Jan Peters participating from the Succow Foundation / Greifswald Mire Centre. The first sparks for the Agreement appeared one year ago, during the second Bi-national Peatland Seminar between Chile and Argentina, which gave rise to the Patagonian Peatland Initiative and to the curatorial project Turba Tol. The latter represents Chile at the 59th Venice Art Biennale, highlighting the collaboration between artists, scientists, and the Selk’nam community from Tierra del Fuego to promote the conservation of the peatlands of Patagonia. The transdisciplinary nature of Ensayos, the Patagonia Peatland Initiative, and Turba Tol forged the vision for a convening of specialists from the fields of ecological science, conservation practice, and climate change policy, with representatives from First Nations and environmental artists to create a novel declaration. After the creation process, overseen by an editorial committee that included the Chilean graphic designer Rosario Ureta, it was signed by 38 participants. 

“We meet today and tomorrow to practice technologies of agreement, with a vision to create a unified global call for the Care for Peatlands from a local perspective.” These were Camila Marambio’s opening words in the morning of June 1st, giving rise to two full days of dialogue, collaborative envisioning and writing, choreographic play, and editorial work. “The global peatland policy agenda is based on high-level conventions, but action for conservation and restoration only happens and persists if dedicated local initiatives, driven by various motivations, act as loving custodians of their peatlands,” added Jan Peters, director of the Succow Foundation / Greifswald Mire Centre. During the last session of the second day, Professor Hans Joosten of the Greifswald Mire Centre, who participated in the editorial committee, described how, despite his initial skepticism, he was “once again amazed at how it is possible for humans to make accords despite our language and cultural differences. We have managed to come up with a strong, poetic, political, and practical claim to protect global peatlands locally.” 

This achievement is equally the result of those who generously shared knowledge in person, giving embodied force to the agreement process, and of the participants of eleven on-the-ground workshops who submitted their input days prior to meeting in Venice. These remote “nodes” worked with an agreement tool kit that captured the diversity of local approaches to valuation and protection of peatlands around the world, in Karukinka Park and Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego), Elk Island (Canada), Everglades (Florida), Alston Moor (UK), Aysén, Puerto Varas and Chiloé (Chile), Brandenburg and Greifswald (Germany), and Minjerribah (Australia). The Venice Agreement effort aims to keep adding localities and signatories in the coming years. This aim is aligned with the work of the Global Peatland Initiative, whose coordinator at UN Environment, Dianna Kopansky, was present in Venice. In her words: “Strengthening the relations between local expertise and global decision makers is vital for the future.” 

Peatland expertise comes in many shapes and sizes. Thus, The Venice Agreement is built on transdisciplinary crossovers between conservation biology, indigenous science, youth-led activism, land management, lawmaking, education, and art. Namely, discussions arose between scientists Jurate Sendzikaite from Lithuania, Catherine Farrell from Ireland, and Nancy Fernández from Argentina; artists pantea from Iran and Randi Nygard from Norway; lawmakers Maria Teresa Vicente from Spain and Michele Lobo from India; and indigenous poets, artists and conservationists Matti Aiko from Sápmi country in Finland, Fernanda Olivares Molina from the Selk’nam community Hach Saye in Tierra del Fuego, and Reverend Houston Cypress from the Miccosukee Otter clan in the Everglades. This layering of knowledges and experiences was enriched by the perspectives from Kenya and Uganda, and voiced by natural resource manager Leonard Akwany, plus substrate entrepreneur Gunnar Koch from Germany. Other peatland policy makers and activists included Stuart Brooks from Scotland, Jane Da Mosto from We Are Here Venice, and Swantje Furtak and Frankie Turk of Re-peat, a youth-led collective based in the Netherlands. All these experts were guided by facilitators Charo Lanao and Manuela Zechner, and workgroup leaders, including Uruguayan writer and sociologist Denise Milstein and Chilean art historian Carla Macchiavello, who followed a carefully designed program to channel the participants’ experiences towards the co-creation of an agreement based on experiential and research knowledge essential to activating the protection of peatlands on a local scale. 

The Venice Agreement values the fact that the well-being of people and peatlands are deeply connected, and that thoughtful, responsible, and accountable actions can protect and restore this unique relation for generations to come. At the same time, the Agreement recognizes specific needs to achieve effective peatland protection. Therefore, it is essential to create: an active local-to-global coordination, multi-layered collaboration, immediate and effective protection of healthy peatlands, and a new framework for recognition of the cultural, spiritual, and ancestral value of peatlands. Meaningful resources are necessary to protect and restore peatlands through innovative solutions. As Dr. Bárbara Saavedra emphasizes, “The Venice Agreement invites us to dissolve the cultural, financial, and social barriers, and to assume the evident ecological fact that we all depend on nature, and the ethical and practical need to care for peatlands,” because, as Reverend Houston Cypress (who calls the peatlands of the greater Everglades home) cited during the closing ceremony, “…peatlands are ancestors.” 

The Venice Agreement was made possible through the generous support of Stiftung Zukunft Jetzt!, Hartwig Behrendt Stiftung Zukunft, the Global Peatlands Initiative led by UN Environment, Office of Contemporary Art Norway and TBA21 Ocean Space. 

For more information please contact: 

Camila Marambio from Ensayos: info@ensayostierradelfuego.net 

Bárbara Saavedra from WCS Chile: bsaavedra@wcs.org 

Jan Peters from the Michael Succow Foundation / Greifswald Mire Centre: jan.peters@succow-stiftung.de 

For a full gallery of photos please follow this link: https://nicolmianaphotography.pixieset.com/theveniceagreement/ and credit The Venice Agreement: Protecting Global Peatlands Locally, signed at TBA21Academy’s Ocean Space, Venice, 2 June 2022. Photo: Nicolò Miana

To download and print The Venice Agreement:

Cultivating Ongoingness Through Site-Specific Arts Research and Public Engagement

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Dr. Lisa Blackmore, Senior Lecturer in Art History and Interdisciplinary Studies, Director of Global Studies & Latin American Studies, School of Philosophy and Art History/Interdisciplinary Studies Centre at Essex University has just published a new article in the Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies that we are proud to be in.

In this article, I consider the contributions of projects in Latin America to the need “to think in the presence of ongoing facts of destruction”, and to imagine and design forms of “ongoingness” amid socioenvironmental challenges and conflicts. I focus on HAWAPI, Ensayos and EnlaceArq, three initiatives that have consolidated a decade of site-specific, practice research that departs from the arts to devise methods that bridge the arts, sciences, and communities to confront socioenvironmental pressures and enduring injustices caused by colonial legacies and continued extractivism. How does site-specific practice research seed and cultivate inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations around pressing socioenvironmental concerns affecting Latin America? How do projects establish critical relationships regarding the circulation of knowledges related to these issues and engage with diverse types of publics? And, insofar as the projects reviewed here often operate on the fringes of academia, what strengths and challenges does this generate for their sustainability over time and their impact on scholarly research, public conversations and the lives of specific communities?

It is open acces  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13569325.2022.2057455 or just read below:

Memoria Seminario Binacional de Turberas de Patagonia 2021

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A casi un año del Seminario Binacional de Turberas de Patagonia 2021 y con miras al Acuerdo de Venecia compartimos con ustedes la Memoria del seminario realizado los días 2 y 3 de junio de 2021. Este un encuentro se realizó para compartir experiencias, desafíos, oportunidades y estrategias en torno a las turberas patagónicas, con miras a levantar una iniciativa binacional de conservación de turberas, la hoy existente Iniciativa de Turberas Patagónicas.

El seminario del 2021 resultó del trabajo colaborativo entre el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente de Chile (MMA-Chile) y la WCS, con el apoyo de la Fundación ManfredHermsen-Stiftung, la Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Ensayos y el Greifswald Mire Centre, y contó con la participación de actores provinciales, regionales, nacionales e internacionales que presentan interés y/o experiencia en las turberas de la Patagonia. Este grupo incluyó personas del ámbito de la conservación, educación, administrativo, científico, producción, arte, entre otros.

El seminario se enmarcó en el trabajo que viene realizando WCS desde el año 2005 en la Región de Magallanes, en el Parque Natural Karukinka en la Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, el que custodia las mayores extensiones de turberas que existen en dicha provincia, en áreas que son colindantes con la hermana República Argentina. Este trabajo le da continuidad a la mirada binacional iniciada en el año 2011 con la realización del Taller “Conocimiento y valoración de las turberas de la Patagonia: oportunidades y desafíos”, realizado en el 2011 en la ciudad de Punta Arenas, en alianza con el MMA-Chile, además de otras instancias de colaboración diversas con diversos actores de la región y de otras
latitudes.

El Acuerdo de Venecia se funda este seminario del 2021 que sirvió de apoyo para levantar un movimiento regional que permite llamar la atención sobre la valoración, conocimiento y cuidado de las turberas del sur del Cono Sur. Un movimiento que sirve para fortalecer el trabajo en los territorios y aportar desde Patagonia a la tarea global de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático. Tarea que el Pabellón de Chile, Turba Tol, en la Biennale di Venezia se ha dedicado a relevar.

The Venice Agreement: Protecting Global Peatlands Locally

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[Venice, Italy] Ensayos is pleased to announce The Venice Agreement, a two-day convening of specialists from the fields of ecological science, conservation, climate change policy with representatives from First Nations that will focus on the value and practice of protecting and restoring our planet’s peatlands at the local level. The convening will be held in Venice, Italy and is being co-organized by Ensayos, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Chile, and the Greifswald Mire Centre in collaboration with TBA21 Academy. 

This historic assembly will culminate in the signing of the The Venice Agreement on World Peatlands Day. The Venice Agreement is a poetic declaration offering a statement of needs and best practices for protecting peatlands around the world at a local scale. It will represent a commitment by local and regional organizations from around the world to establish concrete custodial programs for the ecological and cultural management of peatlands.  By creating an opportunity for the sharing of similarities and differences of on-the-ground peatland conservation initiatives from different continents, The Venice Agreement’s aim is to identify global opportunities in funding, policy and commitment to face local challenges for global peatlands conservation.

The Venice Agreement is inspired in part by Turba Tol Hol-Hol Tol, the Chilean Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia, the 59th International Art Exhibition, curated by Ensayos founder Camila Marambio. Turba Tol Hol-Hol Tol seeks an experimental path towards the effective conservation of peatlands, an effort that is intrinsically linked to the future wellbeing of humanity and, in Patagonia, to the rebirth of the Selk’nam people. The installation includes work by Chilean artists Ariel Bustamante (audio), Alfredo Thiermann (architecture), Dominga Sotomayor (film) and Carla Macchiavello (art history) as well as Ensayos contributions from Chile, Australia, Norway and the United States and collaboration with Wildlife Conservation Society Chile (WCS Chile), and the Selk’nam Fundación Hach Saye.

The Venice Agreement takes a bottom-up approach that responds to the need of smaller local initiatives to be recognized as important collaborators in the international process of peatland conservation. The gathering will take place at Ocean Space, an exhibition and public programs venue that belongs to the research and cultural ecosystem center at the TBA21 Foundation, which promotes a deeper relationship of care for and commitment to the planet’s waters and ecology.

The program has been carefully designed to channel its participants’ experiences towards the co-creation of an agreement based on real knowledge, which may help activate the protection of worldwide peatlands on a local scale. The participants who will formulate the Venice Agreement include peatland protectors from Argentina, Congo, Chile, Scotland, United States, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Kenya, Uganda, and Uruguay. 

During the two-day convening, 30+ participants will contribute to the Agreement, share their visions for the future of peatland conservation, receive the support of experts such as Dr. Hans Joosten of Greifswald Mire Centre, and connect with global decision makers such as Dianna Kopansky from the Global Peatland Initiative. There will be conversations with artists, conservationists, and other experts during sessions guided by experts such as Charo Lanao and Manuela Zechner, and the work session will end with a public event for the Agreement’s signature and a celebration.

The Venice Agreement was made possible through the generous support of:

For more information, visit https://turbatol.org/venice-agreement.html

Careful Thinking: Pensar Cuidando—Henvupen Yaconso

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We’re delighted to announce that – at long last – the essay “Careful Thinking: Pensar Cuidando—Henvupen Yaconso,” co-authored by Camila Marambio, Hema’ny Molina, and Bárbara Saavedra, is now available to be read in the edited collection Post-Capitalist Futures published by Palgrave Macmillan. // Nos complace anunciar que, por fin, el ensayo “Careful Thinking: Pensar Cuidando—Henvupen Yaconso,”, en coautoría con Camila Marambio, Hema’ny Molina y Bárbara Saavedra, ya está disponible para leer en la colección editada Post-Capitalist Futures publicado por Palgrave Macmillan.

We’re delighted to announce that – at long last – the essay “Careful Thinking: Pensar Cuidando—Henvupen Yaconso,” co-authored by Camila Marambio, Hema’ny Molina, and Bárbara Saavedra, is now available to be read in the edited collection Post-Capitalist Futures published by Palgrave Macmillan.

“Hema’ny Molina, Selk’nam activist and writer, Bárbara Saavedra, Chilean ecologist, and Camila Marambio, liminal mestiza curator, unite in a pluriversal chorus of praise and forewarning. Their textual assemblage is intended as a remedy of the wounds inflicted on them by careless thinking, colonialism, objectification, patriarchy, and most of all by the lack of economic diversity that capitalist hegemony imposes on them, which by extension erodes the biodiversity of the lands that they care for.”

We have attached a flyer which includes a promotional code that can be used to get 20% off the printed book or eBook.

Nos complace anunciar que, por fin, el ensayo “Careful Thinking: Pensar Cuidando—Henvupen Yaconso,”, en coautoría con Camila Marambio, Hema’ny Molina y Bárbara Saavedra, ya está disponible para leer en la colección editada Post-Capitalist Futures publicado por Palgrave Macmillan.

“Hema’ny Molina, activista y escritora selk’nam, Bárbara Saavedra, ecologista chilena, y Camila Marambio, curadora mestiza liminal, se unen en un coro pluriversal de elogios y advertencias. Su ensamblaje textual pretende remediar las heridas que les inflige el descuido, el colonialismo, la cosificación, el patriarcado y, sobre todo, la falta de diversidad económica que les impone la hegemonía capitalista, que por extensión erosiona la biodiversidad de las tierras que ellos cuidan.”

Adjuntamos un folleto que incluye un código promocional que se puede utilizar para obtener un 20% de descuento en el libro impreso o el libro electrónico.

Selk’nam Ensayista Fernanda Olivares Receives Ocean Fellowship

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Fernanda Olivares Molina of Ensayos has received the prestigious Ocean Fellowship from TBA21-Academy. // Fernanda Olivares Molina de Ensayos ha recibido la prestigiosa beca Ocean Fellowship de TBA21-Academy.


Fernanda Olivares Molina of Ensayos has received the prestigious Ocean Fellowship from TBA21-Academy. Olivares Molina is a 30 years old Selk’nam woman who studied hospitality management in Santiago (Chile) and is currently CEO at Fundación Hach Saye, a foundation created to protect both Selk’nam culture and the biodiversity of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. She moved to Tierra del Fuego last year after eight years of traveling and moving inside Chile. While in Venice, she will meet the public as a member of the Peat Force, one of the interpretive staff of Turba Tol Hol-Hol Tol, the Chilean Pavilion of the Venice Biennale 59th International Art Exhibition.

The Ocean Fellowship facilitates connections across the diverse localities, knowledges, and oceanic routes of its fellows and mentors, who will spend time together at TBA21–Academy’s Ocean Space in Venice exploring opportunities to learn through oceanic Indigenous methodologies that will also reach a wider audience through the Academy’s ecosystem: Ocean SpaceOcean-Archive.org, and OCEAN / UNI. The Fellowship continues to bring attention to storytelling as a methodology, as an action that portrays and conveys a territory, a mindset, and a substance, encouraging intergenerational exchange, building resilience in communities.

OCEAN FELLOWSHIP 2022 PARTICIPANTS

MENTORS

  • Rebecca Belmore
  • Harald Gaski

OCEAN FELLOWS

  • Matti Aikio
  • Liryc Dela Cruz
  • Ursula Johnson
  • Fernanda Olivares Molina
  • aqui Thami

Fernanda Olivares Molina de Ensayos ha recibido la prestigiosa beca Ocean Fellowship de TBA21-Academy. Olivares Molina es una mujer selk’nam de 30 años que estudió administración hotelera en Santiago (Chile) y actualmente es directora ejecutiva de la  Fundación Hach Saye, una fundación creada para proteger tanto la cultura selk’nam como la biodiversidad de la Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. Se mudó a Tierra del Fuego el año pasado luego de ocho años de viajar y mudarse dentro de Chile. Mientras esté en Venecia, se encontrará con el público como miembro de Peat Force, uno de los miembros del personal interpretativo de Turba Tol Hol-Hol Tol, el Pabellón Chileno de la 59ª Exposición Internacional de Arte de la Bienal de Venecia.

The Ocean Fellowship facilita las conexiones a través de las diversas localidades, conocimientos y rutas oceánicas de sus becarios y mentores, quienes pasarán tiempo juntos en TBA21–Academy’s Ocean Space en Venecia explorando oportunidades para aprender a través de metodologías indígenas oceánicas que también llegarán a una audiencia más amplia a través de el ecosistema de la Academia: Ocean SpaceOcean-Archive.org, y OCEAN / UNI. La Fraternidad continúa llamando la atención sobre la narración de historias como una metodología, como una acción que retrata y transmite un territorio, una mentalidad y una sustancia, fomentando el intercambio intergeneracional y construyendo resiliencia en las comunidades.

PARTICIPANTES DE OCEAN FELLOWSHIP 2022

MENTORES

  • Rebecca Belmore
  • Harald Gaski

COMPAÑEROS DEL OCÉANO

  • Matti Aikio
  • Liryc Dela Cruz
  • Ursula Johnson
  • Fernanda Olivares Molina
  • aqui Thami

Turba Tol: Grounding into the Bog – Ensayo #6

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WHEN

December 27, 2021 – January 9, 2022

WHERE

The Peatlands of Tierra del Fuego at Karkukinka Natural Park and Caleta María.

WHAT

Based on over a decade of eco-cultural cooperation in Tierra del Fuego, Turba Tol comes from the work of Ensayos and rethinks the role of art, creating growing communities oriented towards conservation and coherent environmental actions for the Chilean Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale.

Experimental field work on peatlands challenge us to create a new, turbid and multivocal aesthetic that highlights the stories of the healthy Patagonian peat bogs, emphasizing their role as a Southern bastion in the face of climate change.

WHO

Camila Marambio, Dominga Sotomayor, Ariel Bustamante, Carla Macchiavello, Alfredo Thiermann, Hema’ny Molina, Fernanda Olivares, Cecilia Soto Lopez, Bárbara Saavedra, Nicole Puschel, Rodrigo Munzenmeyer, Rosario Ureta, Benjamin Echazarreta, Isabel Torres, Carolina Caycedo, Ricardo Gallo, Sebastián Cruz, Michelle Gravel, Pedro y Juan Thiermann.

WHY

Peatlands are in urgent need of conservation. All over this increasingly hot and dry world, these wetlands are imperiled. Their conservation is intrinsically linked to the future wellbeing of humankind and, in Patagonia, to the rebirth of the Selk’nam people. Peat bogs are clamoring to be represented as a living body, as the Selk’nam people are also clamoring to be recognized as a living culture.

Turba Tol set out to do just that, listen and respond to the call.

HOW

Thanks to WCS-Chile, Fundación Hach Saye, Ivette Martínez and Julio Gastón Contreras of Caleta María, Juan Pablo Vergara (Turba Tol producer), and private donors.

CUÁNDO

27 de diciembre de 2021 – 9 de enero de 2022

DÓNDE

Las Turberas de Tierra del Fuego en el Parque Natural Karkukinka y Caleta María.

QUÉ

A partir de más de una década de cooperación ecocultural en Tierra del Fuego, Turba Tol surge del trabajo de Ensayos y replantea el rol del arte, creando comunidades crecientes orientadas a la conservación y acciones ambientales coherentes para el Pabellón de Chile en la 59 Bienal de Venecia. El trabajo de campo experimental sobre las turberas nos desafía a crear una nueva estética turbia y multivocal que resalte las historias de las saludables turberas patagónicas, enfatizando su papel como bastión del Sur frente al cambio climático.

QUIÉN

Camila Marambio, Dominga Sotomayor, Ariel Bustamante, Carla Macchiavello, Alfredo Thiermann, Hema’ny Molina, Fernanda Olivares, Cecilia Soto Lopez, Bárbara Saavedra, Nicole Puschel, Rodrigo Munzenmeyer, Rosario Ureta, Benjamin Echazarreta, Isabel Torres, Carolina Caycedo, Ricardo Gallo , Sebastián Cruz, Michelle Gravel, Pedro y Juan Thiermann.

POR QUÉ

Las turberas tienen una necesidad urgente de conservación. En todo este mundo cada vez más cálido y seco, estos humedales están en peligro. Su conservación está intrínsecamente ligada al futuro bienestar de la humanidad y, en la Patagonia, al renacimiento del pueblo Selk’nam. Las turberas claman por ser representadas como un cuerpo vivo, así como el pueblo Selk’nam también clama por ser reconocido como una cultura viva. Turba Tol se propuso hacer precisamente eso, escuchar y responder a la llamada.

CÓMO

Gracias a WCS-Chile, Fundación Hach Saye, Ivette Martínez y Julio Gastón Contreras de Caleta María, Juan Pablo Vergara (productor de Turba Tol) y un pequeño número de donantes privados.

Un paraíso natural EN LA LÍNEA DE FUEGO

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Revista del Domingo, El Mercurio, 13 de Febrero

Karukinka es el parque de Tierra del Fuego amenazado por el
incendio que avanzaba en esta enorme isla austral, poniendo
en riesgo un patrimonio natural alucinante, que todavía muy
pocos visitantes han visto en persona, y cuyo valor es
explicado aquí por cuatro expertos que lo conocen bien.

04-05-Tierra-del-fuego_1302

What comes after apocalypse?

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A keynote with Camila Marambio and Max Boykoff, moderated by Astrida Neimanis as part of The Community Garden Festival on Wednesday February 9 at 14:00 hrs (CET). Register for this event.

THE SEED BOX COMMUNITY GARDEN FESTIVAL — in the spirit of a harvest festival — is a five-day gathering of the environmental humanities community to celebrate the work and take stock of the incredible and diverse research carried out during The Seed Box phase 2.

The Seed Box is an interdisciplinary and international Environmental Humanities research program funded by Mistra (The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research) and Formas (The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning). The long-term goal of the program is to establish a research hub and humanities lab at Linköping University. Focused on research, education, and artistic practices that address pressing environmental challenges, this program will bring together practitioners from different fields and create an interface between academia and other parts of society.

In the first proposal for the Seed Box research, written in 2014, we noted the dangers and inadequacies of “apocalyptic framing” in research and writing on climate change. As the ‘safe operating space for humanity’ seems to be shrinking faster than earlier predictions, how should we orient ourselves to ideas of apocalypse – or similar framings of disaster, catastrophe, emergency – now?

Una conferencia magistral con Camila Marambio y Max Boykoff, moderada por Astrida Neimanis como parte de The Community Garden Festival  el miércoles 9 de febrero a las 14:00 hrs (CET). Regístrece para este evento.  

THE SEED BOX COMMUNITY GARDEN FESTIVAL, con el espíritu de un festival de la cosecha, es una reunión de cinco días de la comunidad de humanidades ambientales para celebrar el trabajo y hacer un balance de la increíble y diversa investigación llevada a cabo durante la fase 2 de The Seed Box.  

The Seed Box es un programa de investigación interdisciplinario e internacional en Humanidades Ambientales financiado por Mistra (La Fundación Sueca para la Investigación Ambiental Estratégica) y  Formas  (El Consejo Sueco de Investigación para el Medio Ambiente, las Ciencias Agrícolas y la Planificación Espacial). El objetivo a largo plazo del programa es establecer un centro de investigación y un laboratorio de humanidades en la Universidad de Linköping. Centrado en la investigación, la educación y las prácticas artísticas que abordan los desafíos ambientales apremiantes, este programa reunirá a profesionales de diferentes campos y creará una interfaz entre la academia y otras partes de la sociedad.  

En la primera propuesta para la investigación de Seed Box, escrita en 2014, notamos los peligros y las deficiencias del “encuadre apocalíptico” en la investigación y la escritura sobre el cambio climático. Dado que el “espacio operativo seguro para la humanidad” parece estar reduciéndose más rápido que las predicciones anteriores, ¿cómo debemos orientarnos hacia las ideas de apocalipsis, o marcos similares de desastre, catástrofe, emergencia, ahora?

Turba Tour

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Como parte un proceso que intenta aportar a la transformación socio-ecológica y previo a la llegada de Turba Tol al pabellón en Venecia, se realizaron una serie de encuentros desde la ciencia, el arte y el conocimiento indígena en torno a la conservación de las turberas.


Mediante tres actividades en las regiones de Magallanes, Aysén y Los Lagos, se buscó compartir las reflexiones y asuntos que construyen el pabellón chileno, al mismo tiempo que abrir el diálogo con las comunidades locales.

🟢Domingo 9 de enero en la Universidad de Magallanes, Punta Arenas (Presencial)

🟢Martes 18 de enero en el Centro de Arte Molino Machmar, Puerto Varas (Presencial)

🟢Martes 25 de enero en Coyhaique en conjunto con el Campus Patagonia de la Universidad Austral de Chile. (Online a traves de Facebook UACH Patagonia)
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Organizan: @culturas_cl@udemagallanes@fundacion_m.a.p.a y @uach_patagonia
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Colaboran: @municipiopuertovaras y @molinomachmar
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La participación de Chile en Venecia es organizada por @culturas_cl y @diracchile
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El Pabellón de Chile 2022 cuenta con la colaboración de @wcs_chile@hachsaye y @ensayostierradelfuego

Experiencias iniciales: un diálogo sobre retornos territoriales

Entrevista a Fernanda Olivares Molina, presidenta de la Fundación Hach Saye, por María Jesús Gutiérrez de Val, arquitecta y fotógrafa independiente.

Como bien hemos aprendido a través de los relatos históricos: durante el s.XIX y primera mitad del s.XX el pueblo Selk’nam pasó de habitar libremente la Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, lugar que por milenios habían compartido con: guanacos, tuco-tucos, lengas, ñirres y por nombrar algunas especies, ha ser expulsados del archipiélago y ser perseguidos y cazados por colonizadores que habían llegado a ocupar con fines comerciales estos supuesto territorios despoblados. Es así como rápidamente la Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego comenzó a ser violentamente despoblada de sus habitantes originales, quienes en su mayoría fueron asesinados o reubicados en las misiones salesianas, para ser repoblada por ovejas e inmigrantes europeos y chilotas. Hoy en día las nietas y nietos de les sobrevivientes de esta genocida práctica estatal han dado inicio a un arduo trabajo de reconocimiento de su cultura ancestral, sus ritos, como lo es el del Hain, que consistía el que marcaba la iniciación de los jóvenes a su etapa de adultez, teniendo que demostrar su valentía y habilidades de caza, enfrentando a los Shoort, como también la reivindicación de su forma de vida nómade y en conexión espiritual con su territorio. Resulta importante destacar las labores que han realizado estas agrupaciones, la cuales presentaron en año 2019 un proyecto que busca modificar la ley N° 19.253, la cual establece las normativas de protección, reconocimiento y fomento de las comunidades indígenas, esto con el objetivo de incorporar al pueblo Selk’nam dentro de esta, ya que actualmente el Estado chileno los reconoce como un pueblo extinto. Y aunque la Cámara de Diputados aprobó la moción para legislar esta modificación, el proyecto sigue aún en discusión y a la espera de poder dar continuidad a este proceso que es tan significativo para las agrupaciones y comunidades Selk’nam. Hoy con Ensayos tenemos el privilegio de conversar con Fernanda Olivares Molina, mujer Selk’nam, presidenta de la Fundación Hach Saye, Ingeniera en Administración Hotelera y recientemente porvenireña.

María Jesús: Quisiera partir preguntándote por tus vínculos con el pueblo Selk’nam: que nos cuentes sobre tus raíces, sobre el vínculo que tienes con tu madre, Hema’ny; ¿y cómo esto ha ido tomando relevancia y un papel cada vez más protagónico en tu vida?

Fernanda Olivares Molina: Bueno, puedo partir diciendo que desde que tengo recuerdos yo se que mi bisabuelo era el Ona de la familia; que era Selk’nam, aunque siempre fue un secreto a voces porque debido a la época (estamos hablando de mediados del siglo pasado) era vergonzoso ser indígena, por lo tanto era una historia que se tapaba, pero aún así siempre estuvo presente. De repente en conversaciones familiares, no sé, mi mamá Hema’ny, se encargaba de que nosotros supiéramos esa parte de nuestra historia. Siempre nos reforzaba, y bueno, es súper especial el vínculo, porque aunque no es un vínculo como el que podrían tener otros pueblos indígenas que no han perdido continuidad de su cultura, siempre me sentí unida en cierta parte, pero muy internamente, o sea, yo rara vez decía que era indígena en otras parte porque, primero, nunca se daba la circunstancia. No es una conversación que la gente tenga en la esquina comprando el pan, entonces de a poquito, en distintas épocas de mi vida era como: ah! me acordaba, o simplemente lo dejaba pasar.

Cuando entré a estudiar en la media y después superior estaba súper centrada en el trabajo. Estudié en un colegio técnico profesional, después empecé con las prácticas y empecé a salir de la región metropolitana, y me enfoqué en eso, en vivir el momento. Hasta que el 2015, ese año volví del norte a Santiago. Creo que pasé tres meses en Santiago y ahí empezamos a juntarnos, a reunirnos en la comunidad que se conoce hoy en día como Covadonga Ona. Ese año fue el que se creó la Corporación y desde ahí empezó un proceso un poco distinto. O sea, igual estaba presente, participando de actividades con motivos Selk’nam, pensando: soy parte de una comunidad, participo cuando puedo, participo cuando mi vivienda me lo permite, cuando mi lugar de residencia me lo permite, o desde el lado más tecnológico apoyando las actividades, pero todo desde la distancia.  Entonces no tuve esa necesidad de empezar a gritar a los cuatro vientos que soy Selk’nam.  No tenía todavía la camiseta bien puesta, o todavía no tenía ese sentimiento muy arraigado. Sabía que era parte de mi, pero no era algo que me causara motivaciones mucho más allá de lo que se necesitaba.

Hasta que por la pandemia volví a vivir a Santiago, y en ese año pasaron demasiadas cosas. La discusión de nuestro proyecto de ley pasó a la cámara de diputados, luego la aprobación en la cámara de diputados y con eso empecé a integrarme de una manera más emocional y sentimental con todo el movimiento. Con un sentimentalismo que no había sentido antes. Entonces a partir del 2020 es que yo puedo decir que empecé de lleno. Si bien es cierto que antes estaba ligada a todo, el 2020 me creció esa  necesidad de saber más, de tener más información para yo poder decir con autoridad “soy Selk’nam”. El giro que ha ocurrido a raíz de esto es drástico: cambié  de ocupación, cambié de vivienda, cambié completamente, y al mismo tiempo sigo siendo la misma, no sé.

M.J.: Sigues siendo Fernanda, claro pero  parece que asumiste de una forma más madura sr Selk’nam, sabiendo hacia dónde dirigir esa energía, hacia el reconocimiento del pueblo Selk’nam y también hacia un reconocimiento personal.

F.O.M.: Sí, yo creo que eso, puedo decir que a la Fernanda que existía antes, se agregó otro pedacito, y este pedacito súper cargado de energía y de ganas de hacer cosas, y claro, todo eso se canaliza en el trabajo que hemos estado realizando. Estoy constantemente aprendiendo nuevas habilidades que le son útiles para el realce de mi cultura. Si puedo decir que se agregó algo a mi.

M.J.: Mucho power.

F.O.M.: Siempre. (risas)

M.J.: Desde hace ya algunos años que existe la Corporación Selk’nam Chile y la Comunidad Covadonga Ona, ambos espacios de visibilización de la comunidad Selk’nam, pero el 2020 nace además la fundación Hach Saye. Como su presidenta, me gustaría que me contaras cuales son sus objetivos a corto, mediano y largo plazo.

F.O.M.: Sí, mira, la Comunidad Covadonga Ona ya tiene 6 años y nació luego de que empezamos a participar activamente en distintos eventos y actividades representando nuestro pueblo y tuvimos la necesidad de tener una personalidad jurídica. La Corporación Selk’nam Chile nació con el fin y objetivo de que la Comunidad estuviera representada en instancias donde era necesaria una personalidad jurídica, pero con el proceso de integración del pueblo Selk’nam a la ley no quedaba mucho tiempo para todo lo que tiene que ver con la cultura misma, con la educación, con el compartir los saberes. Esto estaba quedando muy de lado y había mucha gente que estaba quedando desplazada. Entonces la Fundación Hach Saye nace como en un desahogo (siempre fue un sueño de mamá tener algún tipo de organización que le permita transmitir cultura) y también para hacerse cargo de la mitad que faltaba. Como yo trabajaba en hoteles me era imposible participar de ese sueño, porque los turnos eran de seis por uno, y entre 8 y 12 horas diarias. Entonces, fue cuando tuve que parar por la pandemia que comencé un curso para hacer páginas web y dentro del curso lo que yo me propuse era hacer una página de difusión de la cultura Selk’nam, tanto de protección y conservación ambiental, como de cultura puramente Selk’nam. La página estaba destinada a ambos motivos. En conversaciones con mi mamá llegamos a la conclusión de porqué no usar la página como base para crear una la fundación que hiciera eso de verdad.

M.J.: ¿Qué significa Hach Saye?

F.O.M.: Hach Saye significa literalmente “el espacio entre un latido y otro”.  Aun partió siendo mi proyecto de curso, igual buscamos el nombre juntas  con mi mamá. Hema’ny me ayudó en el proceso de darle un nombre a la página. Lo primero fue que nos gustaba como sonaba, porque estas palabras  reflejan la brevedad de lo acontecido en Tierra del Fuego Históricamente hablando la mayoría de los pueblos tiene quinientos años para atrás desde que comenzó la colonización y para nosotros es una quinta parte. Entonces con Hach Saye lo que quisimos remarcar es que para nosotros los Selk’nam no ha sido más que un pestañazo, un lapso muy corto desde que comenzó la República . Entre un latido y otro, ahí aconteció todo lo que hoy queremos recuperar.

Yo pensé, tengo la energía, tengo las ganas, tal vez no tengo toda la expertise que se necesita, pero lo que no se sabe se aprende y qué mejor que ir aprendiendo en el camino algo que me sirve tanto. Además tengo el apoyo de mi madre. Es incondicional, para lo que necesito. La fundación es familiar. Así que puedo decir con total seguridad y tranquilidad que, aunque es un desafío bastante grande nunca he tenido que enfrentarlo sola y hay tanto ánimo y ganas de que se hagan cosas de mi parte, como del resto de la fundación, o sea, de todo el resto del equipo…

M.J.: Y que además son puras mujeres.

F.O.M.: Sí, bueno, eso no tiene nada que ver con el feminismo, pero no habían hombres interesados cuando lo hicimos.

M.J.: Pero, quizás marca un punto importante porque ustedes dentro su cosmovisión tienen una historia matriarcal súper importante en relación a la figura de los espíritus, no?

F.O.M.: Bueno, igual partamos desde la base que el patriarcado y el matriarcado son conceptos de culturas occidentales que no existían acá en Tierra del Fuego. Si bien, es cierto que los hombres hacían el trabajo más duro que era el de cazar, también tenemos por otro lado a las mujeres que cuando vivían en zonas boscosas tenían que cargar con los palos, ¿si eso no es esfuerzo físico, que es? además de tener que cargar con los niños. Entonces no era un división en cuanto a las limitaciones físicas, como generalmente se da a entender, ya que las mujeres también cazaban, los hombres también recolectaban. Por ejemplo, cuando la mujer estaba embarazada y ya estaba en las últimas, y no tenía la misma capacidad de fuerza que al principio, iba el hombre a ayudar a armar la casa, el kawi, porque la casa tenía que estar sí o sí. Entonces nos encontramos con que habían roles definidos, pero no exclusivos …

M.J.: Estaba pensando en el mito que da origen a la ceremonia del Hain, y quizás estoy metiendo las patas con esto.

F.O.M.: Es que como te digo todo lo que está en internet y lo que está disponible, es información que está interpretada dependiendo del lector. En cuanto al Hain y pienso que no es tan viable que hayan matado a todas las mujeres y hayan dejado a las puras niñas, o sea, los asesinos son puros adultos y en qué momento empieza la procreación, 10 años después, 15 años después, 20 años después. Son interrogantes que vienen después de un análisis súper profundo, después de leer un montón, y no solamente sobre este tema en la cultura Selk’nam, sino también leer un poco sobre otras historias de otros lugares del mundo, donde cada realizador visual, cada escritor y cada cineasta le da el toque que quiere…

M.J.: Y que también está permeado, como dijiste antes, de la cultura occidental y de visión que hemos construido para aproximarnos a esas historias, que igual es parte de una mitología, donde no sabría decirte si es real o no, si sucedió como cuenta el relato.

F.O.M.: Claro, es que todo depende de cómo se vea, porque hay muchas cosas que lo más probable es que hayan sucedido pero se cuentan de una forma que hacen parecer que no, y si nos vamos a buscar el punto en común de las culturas indígenas hay muchos y esta idea de la creación del mundo es bastante común en muchas culturas indígenas alrededor del mundo. Entonces, hasta que punto son mitos y hasta que punto son verdad, no lo sé, yo creo que da para una investigación bien acabada, tal vez con especialidades que haya que inventar para para poder investigar…

M.J.: Y entender las cosas no solo bajo un lente, sino que existen varias aristas y formas para aproximarse a esas historias, ya que lamentablemente casi siempre está regida por la visión que tiene la academia europea que nos ha colonizado…

F.O.M.: Sí, exacto. Igual en estos pocos años hemos podido cambiar la visión de la academia occidental. Ya no veo imposible la meta.

M.J.: Y desde la perspectiva territorial, ¿cómo ha sido para ti encontrarte con tu territorio ancestral? ¿qué sentiste la primera vez que visitaste la isla y qué significa ahora para ti poder habitarlo, estar viviendo en Porvenir, poder recorrer Magallanes? No sé si habías ido antes de este cambio casa, de trabajo y de vida que te llevó a Tierra del Fuego.

F.O.M.: Había visitado Porvenir, pero recién en enero de este año. Vine por cinco días de vacaciones con mi mamá, y , así que igual, aunque podría pensarse que fue poco tiempo pasaron hartas cosas y lo único que puedo decir es que me cambió drásticamente.  Antes, yo quería mudarme a Tierra del Fuego y después de ese viaje yo necesité mudarme a la isla. Lo único que me freno fue que yo tenía que hacer unos trámites en Santiago y que no podía hacer desde acá, sino me hubiera quedado esa primera vez, eso fue lo único que me retrasó con la mudanza pero estar acá, la verdad, es que se siente bastante natural. Desde que terminé de estudiar, yo siempre me he tomado la libertad de mudarme donde se me antojara, no tengo ese arraigo a una casa o al barrio, y a las cosas que finalmente te van atrapando en un lugar. Me daban las Olguitas Marinas y me iba no más…

(Risas)

M.J.: Así es como estuviste trabajando en Torres del Paine, que bueno entendido en distancias magallánicas, es al lado, pero en verdad no es tan al lado de Tierra del Fuego, son igual su horas.

F.O.M.: Claro, de Torres del Paine para acá, son cinco horas hasta Punta Arenas, más dos hasta acá, claro son siete horas de distancia.

M.J.: ¿y nunca dijiste: me voy a escapar a Tierra del Fuego, estando tan cerca?

F.O.M.: Yo creo que me jugaron varias cosas en contra. Primero la ignorancia, yo no sabía la verdad cómo era Tierra del Fuego. No sabía si, por ejemplo, si yo no tenía carpa me podía venir, no sabía cómo era el desarrollo de la ciudad, no sabía nada al respecto. Eso fue por un lado un tema, y otro tema fue que trabajaba por roles, lo que significa que tenía cuatro días de descanso. Pero volviendo al tema de la ignorancia, yo no sabía cómo cruzar a la isla en esa época, si bien estamos hablando del año 2013 y el uso de internet ya era como lo es hoy, de todas formas, yo era más chica y no me atrevía a hacer tantas cosas (a pesar que me atrevía a mudarme de un extremo al otro del país sola, había otras cosas en las que tenía ciertas limitaciones). He llegado a la conclusión, después de analizarlo, porque si estuve dos veces aquí al lado ¿por qué no vine?, y creo que la respuesta es que no era el momento. Creo que cada cosa se va dando cuando tiene que ser. En ese momento no sé si hubiese afrontado Tierra del Fuego como lo afronté ahora que tengo un conocimiento un poco más profundo sobre la cultura y sobre mi misma. Así que bueno, estuve dos veces, 2018 y 2013, y en ninguna de las dos ocasiones me dio para venir. Pero ahora que estoy acá se siente natural. Por eso mismo que estoy acostumbrada y pesco mi mochila y me voy no más, en otro sentido, me sentí súper bienvenida en la comuna. Yo no soy muy amiguera, pero la gente con la que me he relacionado me ha recibido súper bien…

M.J.: Eso tienen los magallánicos, que son súper cálidos.

F.O.M.: Súper, demasiado a veces (risas).

Pero también siento como una responsabilidad a veces, hay sensaciones, hay sentimientos, hay de repente emociones que yo no puedo comprender o que yo no puedo expresar verbalmente, y tampoco he logrado canalizar mucho. Pero yo creo que, en resumidas cuentas, es lo mejor que pude haber hecho venirme para acá, y bueno desde acá no más se abre otra trinchera con distintos flancos…

M.J.: Claro, estando ahí mismo, empieza todo un tema de exploración del territorio, no se si has tenido la oportunidad, a pesar de la pandemia y las cuarentenas, de recorrer Tierra del Fuego, que también es súper diferente de norte a sur, el lado chileno del lado argentino, está también la comunidad que vive en el lago… no quiero decir Fagnano…

F.O.M.: el lago Kami…

M.J.: Si, es que el otro día leí, en el último libro de Marchante, una forma diferente de llamar al lago, el autor anuncia al inicio del libro que usará los topónimos originales para referirse a los lugares que va mencionando, y habla que el lago Kami no se llama así en lengua Selk’nam, que realmente se llama Kakenchow y que significa ‘agua grande’, y que es el nombre indígena correcto según la escritora Selk’nam Margarita Maldonado.

F.O.M.: Bueno, ella ha hecho un trabajo importante a nivel cultural, desde hace bastantes años…

M.J.: … volviendo a lo que te iba a decir, que me estaba yendo por la tangente, que ahí en el lago, también existe una comunidad Selk’nam que trabaja, creo que están en Tolhuin o cerca de la ciudad de Tolhuin?

F.O.M.: Puede ser, yo la verdad en Argentina solo conozco a la Comunidad Rafaela Ishton, ellos están en Ushuaia si no me equivoco, pero puede pasar lo mismo que en nuestra Comunidad, que aunque la Comunidad Covadonga Ona tenga los cuarteles principales en Santiago, cuando yo estaba en San Pedro de Atacama o en Rapa Nui o en Torres del Paine aun así seguía siendo parte de la Comunidad y seguía trabajando por ella, y con la comunidad en Argentina tal vez sucede lo mismo.

M.J.: Volviendo a la pregunta, ¿has tenido la oportunidad de adentrarte en el territorio y conocerlo?

F.O.M.: Sí, pero tal vez no tanto como quisiera, aunque bastante considerando las cuarentenas.

M.J.: ¿Has tenido la posibilidad de ir a Karukinka, a Yendegaia o a Caleta María?

F.O.M.: No, tan lejos no he llegado. A Yendegaia cero posibilidad. Si pasé por fuera de Karukinka, llegué hasta la zona boscosa, a siete curvas del lago Kami, puro conociendo la verdad, por las ganas de salir. Por aquí, más cerca de Porvenir también he conocido harto.  He ido harto a las lagunas, cerca tengo la Laguna de los Estromatolitos, e ido hartas veces.  Me he pegado el pique en bicicleta, así que he tenido la oportunidad de recorrer de distintas formas, caminando, escalando (no profesionalmente, ni con equipo ni nada, muy como cabra), en bicicleta y en auto. Todavía me falta un montón, pero de a poquito, o sea, a cada lugar tengo que ir tomándole la mano de a poquito, e igual como te digo, son hartas cosas que se vienen cada vez que conozco un lugar nuevo. Hay muchos lugares que están cargados, podría decirse. Hay muchos lugares que están cargados de mucha felicidad, otros con curiosidad, otros con mucho dolor, y cada lugar merece su propio tiempo. Así que yo creo que de alguna forma he podido ir adentrándome en la medida justa en la Isla.

M.J.: Además que Tierra del Fuego es tan grande, y como dices tu, tan cargado de distintas cosas que están ahí, y como dice el nombre de la fundación, fue hace tan poco tiempo todo lo que sucedió en la Isla provocado por la colonización, y como esas historias cambiaron la ocupación que tenían de la Isla. Realmente fue hace un pestañeo.

F.O.M.: Fue hace nada, y a eso hay que sumarle que no es solamente la carga del pasado. Con cada persona nueva que va llegando se suman emociones nuevas, quizás yo misma estoy dejando huellas por ahí. Entonces además de sumarle a todos los miles de años anteriores los 130 – 140 años que han pasado desde el inicio de la colonización (que para bien como para mal dejaron huellas), el presente. Debemos entenderlo como un todo, es harta cosa. Por un lado es una responsabilidad súper pesada y por otro lado una tranquilidad que aunque sea con la mitad de un granito de arena que una puede aportar, es algo que se está aportando por la causa, y así abrir la puertecita para que llegue más gente que pueda aportar.

M.J.: Creo que eso es lo importante también, como decías tu, todo que significa difundir, entregar nueva documentación, poder hacer un cambio en la historiografía y desde donde se estudia la historia del pueblo Selk’nam, poder cambiarlo desde la acción.

F.O.M.: Me gusta pensar que cada aporte cuenta, y eso lo yo siempre le dice a la gente: “ya, pero por más chiquitito que sea el aporte, siempre cuenta.” Pero también me agrada poder mirarme al espejo y poder decir:  “aunque sea chiquitito, todo suma.”  Así que estoy feliz, estoy como persona natural, estoy como fundación, estoy como comunidad acá y en algún punto cuando logro juntar todos en un solo día es bastante satisfactorio.

M.J.: Dentro de la descripción de la fundación hablan sobre la protección del territorio, algo que resulta fundamental hoy en día y que parece debiese ser el punto de inicio de nuestra futura Constitución. A propósito de lo mismo, hace un par semanas, en el marco de la presentación del libro “Paisajes Ancestrales del Fin de Mundo”,  tu madre, Hema’ny dijo: “Necesitamos un territorio sano y protegido,” haciendo referencia al archipiélago de Tierra del Fuego, y desde ese punto me gustaría que nos contaras, ¿Cuáles son los caminos que ustedes como fundación, tu como presidenta de ésta y como mujer Selk’nam quieren seguir para proteger el territorio que les pertenece?

F.O.M.: Lo primero que estamos haciendo es auto educarnos a nivel de equipo y a nivel personal. Una no se puede enfrascar en un trabajo de lleno, si no es consciente de que es lo que se está haciendo. Nos hemos dedicado bastante a estudiar el tema. Estamos súper enfocadas en el tema de las turberas; participamos en el Seminario de Turberas de la Patagonia, que se hizo a principios de junio, y ahora estamos dándole a full con la autoeducación. Preparando material para los meses que vienen para crear consciencia y en lo posible llegar a incidir en políticas de protección y conservación.

M.J.: Claro, trabajando con WCS y con Ensayos…

F.O.M.: Ha sido fundacional el tema ambiental y la protección del territorio. Es uno de los puntos que tenemos en estos momentos más a la vista; como te digo tanto en aprender nosotras mismas de que se trata, aunque no se si a nivel científico, porque para eso hay que tener una preparación académica bastante fuerte, pero si entender por lo menos la globalidad y algunas particularidades para poder transmitirlo.  Para lograr tener incidencia en distintas propuestas que van a venir a futuro. También preparando materiales, justamente para difundir sobre las turberas. Otro tema que también está en carpeta es el tema de la deforestación y las amenazas ecosistémicas, como es el castor, que está en el top cinco de los problemas y que vamos a tener pronto que accionar al respecto.

M.J.: Volviendo a un tema  relaciónado al libro de Alonso Marchante que mencioné antes, dentro de todos los naturalistas que llegaron el s.XIX a explorar y trabajar en Tierra del Fuego y a realizar estudios antropométricos de los Selk’nam, muchos hablaban sobre que el territorio legalmente debía pertenecer a la comunidades indígenas.  Es una visión muy occidental, no? La de entender la división del territorio así? ¿Ustedes tienen contemplada la idea de pedir que se devuelva el territorio a la comunidad Selk’nam como los verdaderos herederos de  esos territorios y quitárselo a quienes se los han apropiado para la industria de explotación ovina? Que todos sabemos que han sido estas grandes familias Magallánicas.

F.O.M.: El tema de propiedad del territorio ni si quiera es un problema culturalmente hablando, antiguamente se respetaban los límites -hasta este árbol es de mi familia, nosotros cazamos hasta acá y de ese árbol en adelante es tu territorio, y hasta tal lago – se respetaban estos tratos de palabra y no se cuestionaban. En la actualidad, la verdad, es que, es bastante complejo pensar de forma occidental que se devuelven las tierras a los indígenas, porque la cantidad de gente que vive, historias que han transcurrido, dueños que han pasado, la genta ya hizo su vida acá y hay gente que no tiene la culpa de lo que se hizo hace 150 años. Por lo mismo, yo creo que el tema del territorio es un tema se tendrá que desarmar la madeja cuando llegue el momento, pero pensarlo desde antes es hacerse un caldo de cabeza innecesario, porque bueno, según la ley cuando se reconoce un pueblo indígena hay que entregarles tierras. Si va a ser así bien y si no bien también. Hemos sido perfectamente capaces de seguir nuestras vidas sin que nos den nada y si eso no cambia bien también. Yo fui capaz de venirme hasta acá y no necesite que nadie me regalara nada, entonces…nuestra política de trabajo es paso por paso.

M.J.: Por iniciativa propia

F.O.M.: Claro y así ha sido siempre. Ahí tiene que ver mucho lo que hablábamos antes sobre como ha influido en esto la cultura occidental, porque hay mucha gente que nos atacan en redes sociales, diciendo: “La media bolsa de plata que tiene que haber detrás de ese reconocimiento que exigue la Corporación Selk’nam Chile,” Nosotros no estamos pidiendo nada más que agreguen  “Pueblo Selk’nam” a la ley indígena, nada más.

M.J.: En relación a la pregunta anterior, quiero rescatar algo de la socióloga andina Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, quien señala qué “El proyecto de modernidad indígena podrá aflorar desde el presente, en una espiral cuyo movimiento es un continuo retroalimentarse del pasado sobre el futuro” (2010). Haciendo alusión a que lxs sujetxs indígenas viven en el presente y no solo en el lugar al cual se los ha relegado desde la historiografía, pero también entendiendo que como la concepción de tiempo indígena no es lineal, vuelve al pasado, para situarse en el presente y mirar al futuro, ¿Cómo ha sido para ti identificarte con ser indígena, pero también ser una mujer contemporánea y que a veces la historia pareciera no dejar que se mezclen?

F.O.M: La forma en que vivían los ancestros, es la forma en la que nosotros queremos llegar a vivir ahora. Todos los movimientos revolucionarios, ambientalistas, económicos, todos están apuntando a una forma de vivir que si nos vamos a los libros de historia se relaciona con cómo lo hacían las culturas ancestrales, no solamente por el pueblo Selk’nam. Yo hablo desde ahí porque lo tengo cerca, pero desde ese punto de vista, de cierta forma aprendiendo ahora literariamente del pasado, puedo decir que el presente no lo he vivido tan lejano a eso y en el futuro espero sea cada vez mas parecida al pasado, porque es una forma súper sustentable de vivir, respetuosa. En el fondo es una sociedad que está súper bien armada, que si bien es cierto que siempre hay problemas, porque es algo inherente a la humanidad, nunca hubieron guerras por disputas de territorio. Entonces, yo creo que volver a lo esencial, a lo que es necesario para vivir es un bonito desafío a nivel macro. Ahora con respecto a la conceptualización que se tiene de mi pueblo es un poco ofensiva, porque se asume que tiene que  a la antigu, ser así – si el libro dice tal cosa y tu no eres así, por lo tanto tu no eres…

M.J.: Es muy categórico…

F.O.M: Sí. Qué tiene de malo que yo tenga un computador? Qué tenga un teléfono inteligente y que sea indígena? Yo por ejemplo, aquí te puedo decir -claro, yo no soy cazadora, no me gusta la sangre- pero igual es un tema que he tenido que enfrentar aquí y alguna vueltas le he dado. Pero si ando por ahí caminando en el cerro me agacho y como la chaura, esos frutitos rojitos. He ido a mariscar, he hecho cosas que se hacían antes, y que eran súper naturales y que en cierta forma siempre las he hecho, no se han dejado de hacer! Siempre las tuve conmigo, siempre andaba recogiendo conchitas o plumitas, o si encuentro un arbusto que tiene bayitas las pruebo, a menos que alguien me diga que son venenosas. Cuando viví en Rapa-nui me encantaba ir a pescar; era pesca de roca, no era como que me fuera al agua a tirar redes pero son cosas y formas que siempre han estado, y que ahora haciéndolas acá he podido entender que no solo son divertidas. Cuando se lo cuento a mi mamá o a mi comunidad me dicen, “eso es lo hacían nuestros ancestros, ahí mismo.”

M.J.: Vas haciendo una resignificación y adquiere una lectura distinta, muy ligada al territorio y a tu historia.

Siguiendo con lo mismo te quiero hacer una pregunta más para ahondar en lago que ya hablamos: ¿Qué es lo que se viene o los pasos a seguir que tienen ustedes como fundación y como comunidad?

F.O.M: Yo creo que lo pasitos que siguen son: primero, el que nunca termina, seguir aprendiendo. Como te dije estamos muy avocadas al tema de las turbera, al tema de educar al respecto para llegar a la acción. En temas de educación cultural, con la fundación estamos preparando mucho material. Junio fue un mes bastante movido por ser el mes de los pueblos originarios. Estuvimos en charlas y entrevistas en colegios. Es gratificante que nos busquen por que muestra que estamos haciendo bien la pega, pero también  si nos buscan es porque los docentes están buscando cambiar su forma de pensar y aunque no esté incorporada en la malla curricular nuestra cultura, ellos están buscando cambiar esta parte.

Por otro lado, y de forma más personal, a corto plazo, antes que termine este año, la idea es tener una página dentro del sitio de la fundación que sea exclusivamente para el material educativo.  Para que el profesor que lo requiera lo tenga disponible. Porque hay mucha información en los libros, alguna está bien, otras no tanto, otras están completamente equivocadas, entonces desde la propia comunidad y la fundación queremos compartir nuestra visión. Aunque suene cliché, los niños si son el futuro, y por eso estamos abordando a un público objetivo que va a terminar conformando toda la sociedad, porque los niños comparten la información en la casa, con los papás, las mamás, con los tíos, lo hermanos, con quien vivan, compartiendo la curiosidad.

En tema internos de la fundación, ayudar en todo lo que se pueda desde la fundación a la comunidad, para que todos tengan acceso al conocimiento, por lo menos el más básico. Para que el ser Selk’nam sea una opción, un derecho, pero no una obligación y no porque tu abuelo o tu tatarabuelo era Selk’nam, tu tienes que sentirte y reconocerte como tal, pero si que la gente pueda elegir su identidad de una forma informada.

M.J.: Que importante es eso que mencionas y que puedan tener esas herramientas. Es algo que he hablado con una amiga nortina, sobre cómo se va construyendo este relato, porque, muchas veces ese relato y esa línea hereditaria se construye desde la oralidad por la falta de registros, y que muchas veces solo son recuerdos familiares, porque que  importante es poder trazar esa línea familiar y todo dentro de un proceso de auto reconocimiento como sujetos indígenas y en este caso particular, como Selk’nam.

F.O.M: Es eso y también hay muchas personas que lo que encuentran no es solo un linaje o una opción de identificación, sino que también realmente a su familia, porque estamos hablando de niños robados y adoptados ilegalmente, y hay muchos que ya murieron y que nunca supieron que eran adoptados. Es súper profundo el tema, porque no solo es el que puedan decir – “conocí la cultura, conocí los rasgos culturales y me gusta, quiero identificarme con ellos”- o -”sabes que en verdad no me llama la atención, elijo seguir identificándome como chilena o chileno”-,  ambas opciones están súper bien, pero también hay una tercera patita que es la de las personas que encuentran a su familias reales.

M.J: Y considerando que es un tema que está sobre la palestra en estos momentos, sobre todo con lo que pasó en Canadá, la desaparición y rapto de niños de las comunidades, como se empiezan a ver estas líneas comunes sobre esta forma que tenia de funcionar el colonizador sobre los pueblos, y que esas formas eran replicadas desde el extremo austral con los Yaganes y como lo hacían en el otro extremo en Canadá.

F.O.M: Si una empieza a investigar un poco más, yo no he hecho el ejercicio, pero lo más probable es que incluso sean por las mismas congragaciones y coronas, al final eran los mismos los que financiabas esas misiones colonizadoras, y el accionar, lógicamente, va a ser el mismo desde ese punto de vista, porque al final son las mismas personas, de la misma época y que llegaban con la misma misión, evangelizar.

M.J.: Y como a unos les tocaba en el norte a otros les tocaba en el sur, pero el fin último era el mismo…

F.O.M: Claro, sumar tierras a la corona… terrible!

Visiting Lille Vildmose – A Peat bog in Denmark

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by Nina Lykke

During the summer of 2021, Camila Marambio (founder of Ensayos) stayed in Denmark for some time. We went together to Lille Vildmose – a 7600 ha protected peatland in the North Eastern part of Denmark. Lille Vildmose has for decades been protected, among others by the European Natura 2000 protected areas network. Since 2013, this peatland has also been designated as Ramsar Area, using climate as criteria for protection as part of the Nordic Baltic Wetlands initiative NorBalWet – in line with the international Convention on Wetlands, signed 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

We visited the peatbog together with the biologist Mette Risager, a  Danish expert on peatlands. Mette has studied peatbogs for decades, and is the only Danish biologist, really specialized in peatbogs. Mette has participated passionately in ecopolitical debates on peatland conservation in Denmark, Europe and worldwide. She has contributed to several international reports on the issue (Barthelmes et al 2015; Risager et al 2015). We came to know about Mette through a You Tube film on the importance of peatland conservation (Naturstyrelsen 2015). When we contacted her, she generously offered to take us on a tour to Lille Vildmose to share some of her very comprehensive knowledge on peatbogs with us. Among others, she made it possible for us to go on an awe-inspiring walk with her through areas of the bog, which normally are closed to visitors. We learnt a lot from the day we spent with Mette in Lille Vildmose. Our conversation with her covered both science, politics, history, arts and spirituality of peatbogs. I will give a snapshot, and further recommend the  You Tube film and the referenced reports, if you want to dig further (see the reference list).

A glimpse of the history of peatbogs in Denmark

The lands around the bays of the North Sea, now called Denmark, used to abound in peatlands. In the Ice Age10.000 years ago, the ice cap stopped in the middle of the Danish peninsula, Jutland. When the ice started to withdraw due to warmer climates a lot of meltwater rivers flooded the landscapes, giving rise to wetlands, eventually forming into peatlands. However, at least since the Iron Age, 1-2000 years ago, peat has been used in the area as fuel for heating of human living spaces, which already back then reduced the peatlands, though still only in moderate ways. During the most recent centuries of modern capitalist development, the situation has changed drastically, though. In certain periods of capitalist modernity, among others intensified during World War II,  systematic peat digging for heating purposes has been taking place in Denmark. But even more destructive to the peatlands, major drainage operations have been undertaken during the 19th and 20th centuries with the purpose of securing large scale expansion of farmlands. Denmark is a small, flat country (43000 square kilometers without any mountains), and today one of the most intensively cultivated countries in the world. Only minute areas of socalled ”wild nature” (i.e. uncultivated areas) are left, and only very few of these (if any) bear some kind of likeness to what reasonably could be defined as ”pristine” areas, i.e. areas not terraformed through human intervention. Parts of the peatbog in Lille Vildmose represents such an area (even though drainage and farming activities in the surroundings have had an impact). Mette took us to this ”pristine” part of the bog.

Peatlands and spiritmattering

It was awe-inspiring to walk out into the bog, and experience how that which at a distance looks like a browngreenish, rather homogenous surface, changes drastically into a beautifully multicoloured and diverse flora, when you get close. As we walked further and further, Mette showed us a multitude of different plants, including several species of sphagnum moss that make up a key component of the bog. Sphagnum is an amazing plant with its capacity for immortality in terms of adding layer upon layer of living plant on top of already decomposing remains of earlier sphagnum plants. Mette shared her thoughts on the ecosystem diversity, and her in-depth knowledge of Lille Vildmose. She has walked in the bog for decades; she knows every detail, and holds a big admiration and fascination of the bog. She also told us about the spiritual feelings, which the bog inspires in her, who otherwise considers herself a non-religious person in a conventional sense:

”When I take people to bogs to try to tell them how fantastic bogs are … I am not a religious person, but I feel there is something religious about bogs because when you go to these huge areas without trees, you get this special light, and you stand out there, and you are in an area, which is uninfluenced by anything. It came by itself, and it will be able to grow forever, if people could leave it alone. And sphagnum is also an immortal plant, which is very fascinating,  – you can take a plant and shred it, and it can form thousands of new plants, in theory every leave can make a new plant, but at least the branches can, so I think that it is a fantastic plant. So you go to these really untouched areas with the immortal plants and high to the sky, so for me bogs are fantastic…” (Interview with Mette Risager, July 2021).

For me, Mette’s description of her spiritual feelings resonates very much with the awe, which I oftentimes have experienced when encountering the non-human, deeply material vitality and sympoietic existence*) of the diatomaceous cliffs at the Danish island of Fur. These cliffs are made of algae, species diatoms, that fossilized 55 mio years ago. My lesbian lifepartner’s ashes are scattered outside of the cliffs, and I visit them often. Drawing on these earlier feelings of awe towards spiritmattering agency of matter, and empathizing with Mette’s words about her spiritual experience of the bog, I became strongly bodily aware of the non-human agencies, which surrounded us, while standing at a little lake in the middle of the bog, which Mette led us to. While standing there, we also discussed the Iron age people whose bodies have been found in bogs in several places in Denmark and other North Western European countries – among others the Grauballe Man, excavated in Denmark in 1952 (Asingh 2009). Due to the acidification of the bog, these bodies look as if they died yesterday and not 2000 years ago. According to archeologists, these ancestors considered the bogs as holy places. I think we could somehow understand why, when we stood together with Mette at the little lake in the middle of the ”pristine” part of Lille Vildmose.

Peatbog Conservation and Restoration

We also discussed ecopolitics with Mette. We found out that we shared the wish to make the role of peatlands in climate change regulation much more known. By contrast to the role of forests, of which there is a growing public understanding today, little is publicly known about peatlands, and the ways in which they bind big amounts of CO2. Draining of peatlands, which still goes on in many places, means high level release of CO2 to the atmosphere, while restoring of peatlands can help binding CO2. We would like this knowledge to be spread, and hopefully get an impact among others on the widespread, problematic consumption of sphagnum for gardening and houseplants.

We also discussed the sad fact that around 90% of the Danish peatbogs have already been lost due to drainage in previous centuries. However, Mette underlined that this nonetheless makes two efforts very important. To engage in conservation efforts to keep what is left, and to try to find ways to restore as much as possible, even though the process overall is to be considered as irreversible. Through her work as consultant, Mette has developed suggestions for experiments with peatland restoration methods. However, she told us that, working as a consultant is sometimes difficult, because the stakeholders that consult her, often adapt and simplify her suggestions in ways which end up making them non-effective. But she also had a piece of good news –  the private foundation, Aage V Jensen’s Natural Fund, which owns the most pristine parts of Lille Vildmose, has hired her to carry out an experiment in restoration, which she shall lead and set the conditions for herself. She has high hopes for this.

We wish to warmly thank you, Mette for the tour and for generously sharing so much knowledge with us, and we also wish you all the best for your further efforts to contribute to the conservation and restoration of peatlands.

References

Asingh, Pauline (2009): Grauballe Man. Portrait of a Bog Body. Jutland Archeological Society Publications. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press.

Barthelmes, Alexandra, Couwenberg, John, Risager, Mette, Tegetmeyer, Cosima, and Josten, Hans (2015): Peatlands and Climate Change in a Ramsar context. A Nordic-Baltic Perspective. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers (TemaNord 2015: 44).

Haraway, Donna (2016): Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press.

Naturstyrelsen (2015): Peatlands – climate regulation and biodiversity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcxZ9gvNfSU, accessed September 19, 2021.

Risager, M., Aaby, B. & Greve, M.H. (2015): Denmark. In: Joosten, H., Tanneberger F. & Moen, A. (eds): Mires and peatlands of Europe – Status, distribution, and nature conservation. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart Science Publishers.

Note

*) Sympoiesis is a notion, defined by feminist biologist Donna Haraway (2016), to be understood as every little biological component’s inherent ability to develop in synergy with all other small biological components which make up an ecosystem.

Nina Lykke is a Danish writer, poet and scholar, Professor Emerita of Gender Studies at Linköping University, Sweden.

Captions:

Ill – 1. Mette Risager

Ill – 2. Lille Vildmose – overview

Ill – 3. Lille Vildmose – close-up

Ill – 4. Lille Vildmose – close-up

Ill – 5. The Lake

All photos by Nina Lykke.

por Nina Lykke 

Durante el verano de 2021, Camila Marambio (fundadora de Ensayos) permaneció un tiempo en Dinamarca. Fuimos juntos a Lille Vildmose, una turbera protegida de 7600 ha en la parte nororiental de Dinamarca. Lille Vildmose ha estado protegida durante décadas, entre otros, por la red europea de áreas protegidas Natura 2000. Desde 2013, esta turbera también ha sido designada como Área Ramsar, utilizando el clima como criterio de protección como parte de la iniciativa NorBalWet de Humedales Bálticos Nórdicos, en línea con la Convención internacional sobre Humedales, firmada en 1971 en la ciudad iraní de Ramsar.

Visitamos la turbera junto con la bióloga Mette Risager, una experta danesa en turberas. Mette ha estudiado las turberas durante décadas y es la única bióloga danesa realmente especializada en turberas. Mette ha participado apasionadamente en debates ecopolíticos sobre la conservación de las turberas en Dinamarca, Europa y el resto del mundo. Ha contribuido a varios informes internacionales sobre el tema (Barthelmes et al 2015; Risager et al 2015). Conocimos a Mette a través de una película de YouTube sobre la importancia de la conservación de las turberas (Naturstyrelsen 2015). Cuando la contactamos, generosamente se ofreció a llevarnos de gira a Lille Vildmose para compartir con nosotros algunos de sus amplios conocimientos sobre las turberas. Entre otras cosas, hizo posible que pudiéramos dar un paseo impresionante con ella por áreas de la ciénaga, que normalmente están cerradas a los visitantes. Aprendimos mucho del día que pasamos con Mette en Lille Vildmose. Nuestra conversación con ella abarcó tanto la ciencia, la política, la historia, las artes y la espiritualidad de las turberas. Daré una instantánea y recomendaré la película de YouTube y los informes a los que se hace referencia, si desea profundizar más (consulte la lista de referencias).

Un vistazo a la historia de las turberas en Dinamarca

Las tierras alrededor de las bahías del Mar del Norte, ahora llamadas Dinamarca, solían abundar en turberas. En la Edad del Hielo, hace 10.000 años, la capa de hielo se detuvo en medio de la península danesa, Jutlandia. Cuando el hielo comenzó a retirarse debido a los climas más cálidos, muchos ríos de agua de deshielo inundaron los paisajes, dando lugar a humedales que eventualmente se convirtieron en turberas. Sin embargo, al menos desde la Edad del Hierro, hace 1-2000 años, la turba se ha utilizado en la zona como combustible para calentar los espacios de vida humana, lo que ya en ese entonces redujo las turberas, aunque todavía de manera moderada. Sin embargo, durante los siglos más recientes del desarrollo capitalista moderno, la situación ha cambiado drásticamente. En ciertos períodos de la modernidad capitalista, entre otros intensificados durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, se ha venido realizando en Dinamarca la excavación sistemática de turba para fines de calefacción. Pero aún más destructivo para las turberas, se llevaron a cabo importantes operaciones de drenaje durante los siglos XIX y XX con el propósito de asegurar la expansión a gran escala de las tierras de cultivo. Dinamarca es un país pequeño y llano (43000 kilómetros cuadrados sin montañas), y hoy en día uno de los países más intensamente cultivados del mundo. Solo quedan áreas diminutas de la llamada “naturaleza salvaje” (es decir, áreas no cultivadas), y solo muy pocas de ellas (si las hay) tienen algún tipo de similitud con lo que razonablemente podría definirse como áreas “prístinas”, es decir, áreas no terraformadas por acción humana. intervención. Partes de la turbera en Lille Vildmose representan tal área (a pesar de que las actividades agrícolas y de drenaje en los alrededores han tenido un impacto). Mette nos llevó a esta parte “prístina” del pantano.

urberas y materia espiritual Fue impresionante salir a la ciénaga y experimentar cómo lo que a la distancia parece una superficie marrón verdosa, bastante homogénea, cambia drásticamente a una flora bellamente multicolor y diversa, cuando te acercas. A medida que caminábamos más y más, Mette nos mostró una multitud de plantas diferentes, incluidas varias especies de musgo sphagnum que constituyen un componente clave del pantano. Sphagnum es una planta increíble con su capacidad de inmortalidad en términos de agregar capa tras capa de plantas vivas encima de restos ya en descomposición de plantas de sphagnum anteriores. Mette compartió sus pensamientos sobre la diversidad del ecosistema y su profundo conocimiento de Lille Vildmose. Ella ha caminado en el pantano durante décadas; conoce cada detalle y tiene una gran admiración y fascinación por la ciénaga. También nos contó sobre los sentimientos espirituales que le inspira el pantano, quien por lo demás se considera una persona no religiosa en un sentido convencional:

”Cuando llevo a la gente a los pantanos para tratar de decirles lo fantásticos que son los pantanos… No soy una persona religiosa, pero siento que hay algo religioso en los pantanos porque cuando vas a estas áreas enormes sin árboles, obtienes esta luz especial, y te paras allí, y estás en un área que no está influenciada por nada. Llegó por sí mismo, y podrá crecer para siempre, si la gente pudiera dejarlo solo. Y sphagnum también es una planta inmortal, lo cual es muy fascinante: puedes tomar una planta y triturarla, y puede formar miles de plantas nuevas, en teoría, cada hoja puede hacer una planta nueva, pero al menos las ramas pueden, así que Creo que es una planta fantástica. Entonces vas a estas áreas realmente vírgenes con las plantas inmortales y alto en el cielo, así que para mí los pantanos son fantásticos…” (Entrevista con Mette Risager, julio de 2021).

Para mí, la descripción de Mette de sus sentimientos espirituales resuena mucho con el asombro que a menudo he experimentado al encontrarme con la vitalidad no humana, profundamente material y la existencia simpoiética*) de los acantilados de diatomeas en la isla danesa de Fur. Estos acantilados están formados por algas, especies de diatomeas, que se fosilizaron hace 55 millones de años. Las cenizas de mi pareja lesbiana están esparcidas fuera de los acantilados y las visito con frecuencia. Basándome en estos sentimientos anteriores de asombro hacia la agencia espiritual de la materia, y empatizando con las palabras de Mette sobre su experiencia espiritual en el pantano, me volví muy consciente corporalmente de las agencias no humanas que nos rodeaban, mientras estaba parado en un pequeño lago en el medio de la ciénaga, a la que Mette nos llevó. Mientras estábamos allí, también hablamos sobre las personas de la Edad del Hierro cuyos cuerpos se han encontrado en pantanos en varios lugares de Dinamarca y otros países del noroeste de Europa, entre otros, el Hombre de Grauballe, excavado en Dinamarca en 1952 (Asingh 2009). Debido a la acidificación de la ciénaga, estos cuerpos parecen haber muerto ayer y no hace 2000 años. Según los arqueólogos, estos antepasados ​​consideraban los pantanos como lugares sagrados. Creo que de alguna manera pudimos entender por qué, cuando nos paramos junto con Mette en el pequeño lago en medio de la parte “prístina” de Lille Vildmose.

Conservación y restauración de turberas

También hablamos de ecopolítica con Mette. Descubrimos que compartíamos el deseo de dar a conocer mucho más el papel de las turberas en la regulación del cambio climático. En contraste con el papel de los bosques, sobre el cual hay una creciente comprensión pública hoy en día, poco se sabe públicamente sobre las turberas y las formas en que fijan grandes cantidades de CO2. El drenaje de las turberas, que todavía se lleva a cabo en muchos lugares, significa una liberación de CO2 a la atmósfera de alto nivel, mientras que la restauración de las turberas puede ayudar a retener el CO2. Nos gustaría que este conocimiento se difundiera y, con suerte, lograr un impacto, entre otros, en el consumo generalizado y problemático de sphagnum para jardinería y plantas de interior.

También discutimos el triste hecho de que alrededor del 90% de las turberas danesas ya se han perdido debido al drenaje en siglos anteriores. Sin embargo, Mette subrayó que esto, sin embargo, hace dos esfuerzos muy importantes. Participar en esfuerzos de conservación para mantener lo que queda y tratar de encontrar formas de restaurar tanto como sea posible, aunque el proceso en general se considere irreversible. A través de su trabajo como consultora, Mette ha desarrollado sugerencias para experimentos con métodos de restauración de turberas. Sin embargo, nos comentó que, trabajar como consultora a veces es difícil, porque los stakeholders que la consultan, muchas veces adaptan y simplifican sus sugerencias de manera que terminan por hacerlas ineficaces. Pero también tenía una buena noticia: la fundación privada Aage V Jensen’s Natural Fund, propietaria de las partes más vírgenes de Lille Vildmose, la ha contratado para llevar a cabo un experimento de restauración, que ella liderará y sentará las condiciones para sí misma. Ella tiene grandes esperanzas para esto.

Referencias

Asingh, Pauline (2009): Grauballe Man. Retrato de un cuerpo de pantano. Publicaciones de la Sociedad Arqueológica de Jutlandia. Aarhus: Prensa de la Universidad de Aarhus.

Barthelmes, Alexandra, Couwenberg, John, Risager, Mette, Tegetmeyer, Cosima y Josten, Hans (2015): Las turberas y el cambio climático en el contexto de Ramsar. Una perspectiva nórdico-báltica. Copenhague: Consejo Nórdico de Ministros (TemaNord 2015: 44).

Haraway, Donna (2016): Permanecer con el problema: hacer parientes en el Chthulucene, Durham, NC y Londres: Duke University Press.

Naturstyrelsen (2015): Turberas: regulación del clima y biodiversidad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcxZ9gvNfSU, consultado el 19 de septiembre de 2021.

Risager, M., Aaby, B. y Greve, M.H. (2015): Dinamarca. En: Joosten, H., Tanneberger F. & Moen, A. (eds): Lodos y turberas de Europa: estado, distribución y conservación de la naturaleza. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart Science Publishers.

Nota

*) La simpoiesis es una noción, definida por la bióloga feminista Donna Haraway (2016), que debe entenderse como la capacidad inherente de cada pequeño componente biológico para desarrollarse en sinergia con todos los demás pequeños componentes biológicos que forman un ecosistema.

Nina Lykke es una escritora, poeta y académica danesa, profesora emérita de estudios de género en la Universidad de Linköping, Suecia.

Subtítulos:

Ill – 1. Mette Risager

Ill – 2. Lille Vildmose – resumen

Ill – 3. Lille Vildmose – primer plano

Ill – 4. Lille Vildmose – primer plano Enfermo

Ill – 5. El lago

Todas las fotos por Nina Lykke.

Bog or Not-Bog: Audio Reflections

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Two students from the University of Hartford’s NOMAD Interdisciplinary MFA, Teal Gardner and Morgan Kulas, created audio experiments inspired by their study of Crystal Peat Conservation Area in Tolland, Connecticut, USA during the Art & Ecology course taught by Christy Gast and Camila Marambio of Ensayos.

Morgan Kulas (Colorado, USA) is an artist and educator with a background in classical and contemporary dance who is interested in ecological questions about landscape, consciousness, interconnection, and the transformation of suffering into understanding. She is an experienced yoga and meditation teacher and the founder of Aarunya Yoga School and Art of Awe, and she created this guided meditation for that platform:

Teal Gardner Teal Gardner (b. 1984, she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist from Nebraska, residing in Idaho. She is interested in building questions based on ecological thinking, spurred by the devastating lack of such orientations in capitalist society. She works through collaborative practices, education, and the production of cultural materials that reflect a holistic reality. Teal’s audio piece “My Not Bog” refers to Alvin Lucier’s seminal audio work “I Am Sitting in a Room”. Her statement about the piece is embedded below the audio file as a PDF.

My Not Bog

Dos estudiantes del MFA Interdisciplinario NOMAD de la Universidad de Hartford, Teal Gardner y Morgan Kulas, crearon experimentos de audio inspirados en su estudio del Área de Conservación Crystal Peat en Tolland, Connecticut, EE. UU. durante el curso de Arte y Ecología impartido por Christy Gast y Camila Marambio de Ensayos.

Morgan Kulas (Colorado, EE. UU.) es un artista y educador con experiencia en danza clásica y contemporánea que está interesado en cuestiones ecológicas sobre el paisaje, la conciencia, la interconexión y la transformación del sufrimiento en comprensión. Es una profesora experimentada de yoga y meditación y fundadora de Aarunya Yoga School and Art of Awe, y creó esta meditación guiada para esa plataforma:

Teal Gardner Teal Gardner (n. 1984, ella/ella) es una artista interdisciplinaria de Nebraska, residente en Idaho. Le interesa construir preguntas basadas en el pensamiento ecológico, insitada por la devastadora carencia de tales orientaciones en la sociedad capitalista. Trabaja a través de prácticas colaborativas, educación y producción de materiales culturales que reflejan una realidad holística. La pieza de audio de Teal “My Not Bog” se refiere al trabajo de audio seminal de Alvin Lucier “I Am Sitting in a Room”. Su declaración sobre la pieza está incrustada debajo del archivo de audio en formato PDF.

¿Cómo diseñar una turbera 2D?

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Turberas Risographs by Rosario Ureta

Keywords: mob, diversity, layers, chaos, scale, wandering, glitch, fabric

Essays commissioned me to develop, in collaboration with Camila Marambio and Christy Gast, images that would represent the ecosystems of the peat bogs and that would be transformed into posters printed in risography for the Poster Portal project of the exhibition For there to be a party, you have to dance the forest, curated by Michy Marxuach in collaboration with multiple transhemispheric voices. One of these designs would also be the official poster for the Bi-national Seminar on Peatlands in Patagonia.

To imagine these spongy bodies that are peat bogs in 2D, it was first necessary to understand that they are ecosystems of great diversity, where chaotic encounters occur between all the layers and elements that compose them: microorganisms, gases, plants, invertebrates, litter.

Christy and Camila began sending me drawings of the many organisms and non-organisms that can be found scrambled within the peat. So the idea was to generate a background texture to compose the drawings on it, and that they would become entangled and confused until they formed a single plot. After receiving the drawings, I sent my processes to my collaborators, Christy, Camila, and the WCS scientists so that they could give me back their perceptions. A coming and going of ideas that was weaving a textile, like what peat bogs seem to be made of.

To design the background on which the drawings would go, I grouped several photos of peat bogs seen from above, giving a cartographic sensation, which interested me to talk about them as a territory, or a map. When composing them, I zoomed in on some parts and zoomed out on others. A game of scales, approaches and distances was produced that caused a glitch, a digital distortion of the image that reveals its pixels and its fragility to the support. This distortion of the image also worked as an analogy with these ecosystems, erratic in their composition and fragile to human intervention.

From the beginning these images were visualized to be printed in risography. There was a forced foot in terms of format and colors, in particular, because risography is printed in layers of color. In this way, the images were constructed taking into account the printing medium: by layers of color; a work that insisted on the idea of ​​the formation of a fabric as a representation of the body of peat bogs.

Risografías Turberas por Rosario Ureta

Palabras Clave: turba, diversidad, capas, caos, escala, errante, glitch, tejido

Ensayos me hizo el encargo de desarrollar, en colaboración con Camila Marambio y Christy Gast, imágenes que representaran a los ecosistemas de las turberas y que se transformaran en afiches impresos en risografía para el proyecto Póster Portal de la exposición Para que haya fiesta tiene que danzar el bosque, curada por Michy Marxuach en colaboración con múltiples voces transhemisféricas. Uno de estos diseños además sería el afiche oficial del Seminario Bi-nacional de Turberas de Patagonia.

Para imaginar en 2D estos cuerpos esponjosos que son las turberas, fue necesario primero comprender que son ecosistemas de mucha diversidad, donde se producen encuentros caóticos entre todas las capas y elementos que las componen: microorganismos, gases, plantas, invertebrados, basuritas.

Christy y Camila comenzaron a mandarme dibujos de los muchos organismos y no-organismos que se pueden encontrar revueltos dentro de la turba. Entonces la idea fue generar una textura de fondo para componer sobre ella los dibujos, y que se fueran enredando y confundiendo hasta formar una sola trama. Luego de recibir los dibujos yo enviaba a mis colaboradoras, Christy, Camila, y las científicas de la WCS mis procesos para que ellas me devolvieran sus percepciones. Un ir y venir de ideas que fue entramando un textil, como del que parecen estar hechas las turberas.

Para diseñar el fondo sobre el cual irían los dibujos, agrupé varias fotos de turberas vistas desde arriba, dando una sensación cartográfica, lo cual me interesó para hablar de ellas como un territorio, o un mapa. Al componerlas, hice zoom en algunas partes y otras las alejé. Se produjo un juego de escalas, acercamientos y alejamientos que provocaron un glitch, una distorsión digital de la imagen que devela sus pixeles y su fragilidad al soporte. Esta deformación de la imagen también funcionó como una analogía con estos ecosistemas, erráticos en su composición y frágiles a la intervención humana.

Desde un principio se visualizaron estas imágenes para ser impresas en risografía. Había un pie forzado en cuanto al formato y los colores, en particular, porque la risografía se imprime por capas de color. De ese modo, las imágenes fueron construídas tomando en cuenta el medio de impresión: por capas de color; un trabajo que insistió en la idea de la formación de un tejido como representación del cuerpo de las turberas.

Raíz Común Awarded Tamaas Foundation Grant

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**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

[New York: June 28, 2021]  Ensayos is the recipient of a generous grant supporting the three-year project Raíz Común which combines indigenous language revitalization and ecological conservation through poetic means. An award from the Tamaas non-profit will support an open-ended translation process through which a core group of participants–writers, scientists, artists and Selk’nam women–will establish indigenous meaning for ecological and cultural issues in Tierra del Fuego. Raíz Común is a “slow sisterly experiment in translation,” describes Camila Marambio, the founder of Ensayos, who also expresses her utmost gratitude to the artist Cecilia Vicuña who nominated Ensayos for the award. The project will begin with a discovery period connecting Selk’nam language study with issues of ecological importance in Tierra del Fuego, specifically the conservation of peat bogs by the Wildlife Conservation Society-Chile. This process will be led by Hema’ny Molina, a Selk’nam leader and writer, and Fernanda Olivares Molina, the first member of the community to return to Tierra del Fuego, Chile, from which the community was exiled in the late 19th and early 20th century. 

About Tamaas

Tamaas encourages and supports artists and creative thinkers to challenge their roles beyond that of witness. An inter-cultural association of earth arts justice, Tamaas invites collaborative engagement with the social imperatives of our times that call for subtle consciousness and an imaginative sensibility over the demands of profit. Tamaas is active through residencies, curatorial practices, collaborative projects and performances, an annual translation seminar and publications working to redistribute inequalities of power across disciplines.

Participant biographies:

Hema’ny Molina (Santiago, Chile) is a Selk’nam writer, poet, craftswoman and grandmother. Molina is president of the Selk’nam Corporation Chile, formed in 2015, which aims to dislodge the indigenous community from the stigma of “extinction.” The Covadonga Ona indigenous community gathers families of Selk’nam descendants who have maintained oral memory through the transmission of ancestral knowledge and connection over generations.

Fernanda Olivares (Porvenir, Chile), Hema’ny Molina’s daugther, is a Selk’nam woman and the president of the Hach Saye Foundation. She has a degree in hospitality management and is currently applying these skills to educate people in Tierra del Fuego about her culture.

Bárbara Saavedra (Santiago, Chile) is a biologist specializing in ecology and conservation and has been the director of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) for Chile since 2005. She received her PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chile. Recognized as one of Chile’s top 100 women leaders by the country’s leading newspaper, she has been director of the Ecological Society of Chile and member of the Civil Society Council of Institute of Human Rights of Chile, where she connects her vision of justice with biodiversity conservation. Her advocacy successes at WCS include the protection of 70,000 hectares of peatlands through the Chilean Ministry of Mining and the declaration of the Admiralty Sound as a Marine Protected Area.

Melissa Carmody (Punta Arenas, Chile) is a conservation biologist and the manager of WCS Chile’s Karukinka Park on the Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego. She has a Master’s in Environmental Conservation and Landscape Management from the University of Melbourne. She has worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society for eight years co-leading the areas of strategic conservation planning and effective protected area management.

Daniela Droguett (Punta Arenas, Chile), who participated the first year before leaving the group, is a biologist and the regional director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Magallanes. She is co-author of a handful of scientific publications related to areas of high conservation value, ecosystem services, and specific species such as the black-browed albatross and the huemul. Her knowledge spans issues of conservation, biodiversity, management of protected areas, gender leadership and conflict management related to environmental issues.

Christy Gast (Amenia, New York) is an artist based in New York whose sculptures and video installations focus on issues of politics and aesthetics with regard to landscape. Her work has been exhibited at MoMA/P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, Performa, Exit Art and Artist’s Space in New York, Pérez Art Museum of Miami, the Bass Museum, the de la Cruz Collection and Nina Johnson Gallery in Miami, Matucana 100 and Patricia Ready Gallery in Santiago, CL and the Kadist Art Foundation in Paris. She is faculty in the Nomad Interdisciplinary MFA program at the University of Hartford. 

Camila Marambio (Papudo, Chile) founded Ensayos in 2010. She is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Royal Art Institute in Stockholm via The Seedbox: An Environmental Humanities Collaboratory, Linköping University, Sweden. She holds a PhD in Curatorial Practice from Monash University, Naarm/Melbourne, a M.A. in Modern Art: Curatorial Studies from Columbia University, NYC, and a Masters of Experiments in Art and Politics, Sciences Po, Paris. She is co-author of the books Slow Down Fast, A Toda Raja with Cecilia Vicuña (Errant Bodies Press, 2019) and Sandcastles: Softness as a New Planetary Ethics with Nina Lykke (forthcoming 2022).

Carla Macchiavello is an art historian and educator who has published on contemporary Chilean and Latin American art with an emphasis in video art, performance, networks of solidarity and resistance, and artistic practices aimed at social change. She is Associate Professor in Art History at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, NY, and received her PhD from Stony Brook University. She has curated exhibitions on contemporary Latin American art and is co-editor of Más allá del fin/Beyond the End.

**PARA PUBLICACIÓN INMEDIATA*

[Nueva York: 28 de junio de 2021] Ensayos recibió una generosa subvención que apoya el proyecto de tres años Raíz Común, que combina la revitalización de las lenguas indígenas y la conservación ecológica a través de medios poéticos. Un premio de la organización sin fines de lucro Tamaas, apoyará un proceso de traducción abierto a través del cual un grupo central de participantes (escritores, científicos, artistas y mujeres Selk’nam) establecerá el significado indígena para los problemas ecológicos y culturales en Tierra del Fuego. Raíz Común es un “experimento en hermandad, traducción lenta  y justicia linguistica ”, describe Camila Marambio, fundadora de Ensayos, quien también expresa su mayor agradecimiento a la artista Cecilia Vicuña, quien nominó Ensayos para el premio. El proyecto comenzará con un período de descubrimiento conectando el estudio del idioma Selk’nam con temas de importancia ecológica en Tierra del Fuego, específicamente la conservación de las turberas por parte de Wildlife Conservation Society-Chile. Este proceso estará encabezado por Hema’ny Molina, líder y escritora Selk’nam, y Fernanda Olivares Molina, la primera miembro de la comunidad en regresar a Tierra del Fuego, Chile, de donde la comunidad fue exiliada a fines del siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX.

Sobre Tamaas

Tamaas alienta y apoya a artistas y pensadores creativos a desafiar sus roles más allá del de testigo. Una asociación intercultural de justicia de las artes de la tierra. Tamaas invita al compromiso colaborativo con los imperativos sociales de nuestro tiempo que exigen una conciencia sutil y una sensibilidad imaginativa sobre las demandas de ganancias. Tamaas está activo a través de residencias, prácticas curatoriales, proyectos colaborativos y actuaciones, un seminario anual de traducción y publicaciones que trabajan para redistribuir las desigualdades de poder entre disciplinas.

Biografías de los participantes:

Hema’ny Molina (Santiago, Chile) es escritora, poeta, artesana y abuela Selk’nam. Molina es presidente de la Corporación Selk’nam Chile, formada en 2015, que tiene como objetivo desalojar a la comunidad indígena del estigma de la “extinción”. La comunidad indígena Covadonga Ona reúne a familias de descendientes selk’nam que han mantenido la memoria oral a través de la transmisión de conocimientos ancestrales y la conexión a lo largo de generaciones.

Fernanda Olivares (Porvenir, Chile), hija de Hema’ny Molina, es mujer Selk’nam y presidenta de la Fundación Hach Saye. Tiene una licenciatura en administración hotelera y actualmente está aplicando estas habilidades para educar a las personas en Tierra del Fuego sobre su cultura.

Bárbara Saavedra (Santiago, Chile) es bióloga especializada en ecología y conservación y ha sido directora de Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) para Chile desde 2005. Recibió su doctorado en Biología Evolutiva de la Universidad de Chile. Reconocida como una de las 100 mujeres líderes de Chile por el diario líder del país, ha sido directora de la Sociedad Ecológica de Chile y miembro del Consejo de la Sociedad Civil del Instituto de Derechos Humanos de Chile, donde conecta su visión de justicia con la conservación de la biodiversidad. Sus éxitos de promoción en WCS incluyen la protección de 70.000 hectáreas de turberas a través del Ministerio de Minería de Chile y la declaración de Admiralty Sound como Área Marina Protegida.

Melissa Carmody (Punta Arenas, Chile) es bióloga conservacionista y administradora del Parque Karukinka de WCS Chile en la Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. Tiene una Maestría en Conservación Ambiental y Gestión del Paisaje de la Universidad de Melbourne. Ha trabajado para la Sociedad de Conservación de la Vida Silvestre durante ocho años codirigiendo las áreas de planificación estratégica de conservación y gestión eficaz de áreas protegidas.

Daniela Droguett (Punta Arenas, Chile) , quien participo del primer año antes de retirarse, es bióloga y directora regional de Wildlife Conservation Society en Magallanes. Es coautora de un puñado de publicaciones científicas relacionadas con áreas de alto valor de conservación, servicios ecosistémicos y especies específicas como el albatros de ceja negra y el huemul. Su conocimiento abarca temas de conservación, biodiversidad, manejo de áreas protegidas, liderazgo de género y manejo de conflictos relacionados con temas ambientales.

Christy Gast (Amenia, Nueva York) es una artista afincada en Nueva York cuyas esculturas y videoinstalaciones se centran en cuestiones de política y estética con respecto al paisaje. Su trabajo ha sido exhibido en MoMA/PS1 Contemporary Art Center, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, Performa, Exit Art and Artist’s Space en Nueva York, Pérez Art Museum of Miami, the Bass Museum, the de la Cruz Collection y Nina Johnson Gallery en Miami, Matucana 100 y Patricia Ready Gallery en Santiago, CL y Kadist Art Foundation en París. Es profesora en el programa MFA interdisciplinario Nomad en la Universidad de Hartford.

Camila Marambio (Papudo, Chile) fundó Ensayos en 2010. Es becaria postdoctoral en el Royal Art Institute de Estocolmo a través de The Seedbox: An Environmental Humanities Collaboratory, Universidad de Linköping, Suecia. Tiene un doctorado en Práctica Curatorial de la Universidad de Monash, Naarm/Melbourne, una Maestría en Arte Moderno: Estudios Curatoriales de la Universidad de Columbia, Nueva York, y una Maestría en Experimentos en Arte y Política, Sciences Po, París. Es coautora de los libros Slow Down Fast, A Toda Raja con Cecilia Vicuña (Errant Bodies Press, 2019) y Sandcastles: Softness as a New Planetary Ethics con Nina Lykke (próxima publicación en 2022).

En este día internacional de las Turberas, ‘onde va la lancha?

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En Ensayos cantamos canciones. Canciones populares, cánticos marinos, canciones para niños, éxitos del pop, cualquier cosa para que las preguntas sobre conservación medioambiental sigan fluyendo en el mundo. ¿Te acuerdas de “Onde va la lancha?” Camila invitó a una familia de talentosos músicos del pueblo de Papudo, un pueblo de pescadores en la costa de Chile, para que grabará la versión de Ensayos de este clásico de Chilote. Esta canción escrita por Christy Gast y Camila Marambio, interpretada por La Fuente Papudo y grabada en el Estudio Submarino Rojo es parte del podcast de Ensayos.

In Ensayos we sing songs. Folk songs, sea chanties, kids’ ditties, pop hits–anything to keep conservation questions flowing in the world. Remember ‘Onde va la lancha? Camila invited a family of talented musicians from her hometown, a fishing village on the coast of Chile, to record our version of this Chilote classic. This song was re-written by Christy Gast and Camila Marambio, interpreted by Fuente Papudo and recorded at Submarino Rojo for the Ensayos Listening Series.

Seminario Binacional Turberas de Patagonia

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Chilean and Argentine Patagonia keep, among the riches of their territories, vast extensions of peat bog wetlands, valuable ecosystems that are essential to face the climate and water crises that lie ahead.

With the objective of knowing and sharing strategies, discussing challenges and opportunities for the conservation of Patagonian Peatlands, the Ministry of the Environment and WCS Chile organize and convene the Binational Peatlands of Patagonia Seminar, this Wednesday, June 2, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m Chile continental.

This event, which is celebrated on World Peatland Day and brings together people with experience and knowledge from Argentina and Chile, has the visionary support of the Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung Foundation, the Greifswald Mire Centre, ENSAYOS and the Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands.

Read more

La Patagonia chilena y argentina guardan, entre las riquezas de sus territorios, vastas extensiones de humedales de turberas, valiosos ecosistemas que además son fundamentales para enfrentar las crisis climática e hídrica que acechan.

Con el objetivo de conocer y compartir estrategias, discutir desafíos y oportunidades para la conservación de las Turberas patagónicas, el Ministerio del Medio Ambiente y WCS Chile organizan y convocan al Seminario Binacional Turberas de Patagonia, este miércoles 2 de junio 2021 de 9:00 a 13:00 horas de Chile continental.

Este evento, que se celebra el Día Mundial de las Turberas y convoca a personas con experiencia y conocimiento desde Argentina y Chile, cuenta con el visionario apoyo de la fundación Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung  el Greifswald Mire Centre, ENSAYOS y la Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur.

Leer más.

Radio Polar

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Patricia Messier Locuante, mujer Kawéskar y amiga de Ensayos,  invita a todas y todos a su nuevo programa de radio.

Todos los días miércoles de 17:00 a 18:00 horas en Radio Polar.

Patricia Messier Locuante, who is a Kawéskar woman, educator, artisan, and a close friend of Ensayos,  has a new radio program on Radio Polar.

Tune in every Wednesday from 5-6pm (GMT-3) for interviews and conversation about Kaéskar culture.

Bog Is Good–Ensayo #6

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WHEN

April 3, 2021 – June 15, 2021

WHAT

Knee deep in the peat bogs of New York and Connecticut–mucking around, curriculum planning, drawing, writing, exhibition-making.

WHY

Wildlife Conservation Society-Chile has designed a strategic roadmap for the conservation and sustainable usage of peat bogs, which are an endangered ecosystem not only in Tierra del Fuego but also worldwide. Ensayos is collaborating on the Patagonian Peatland Initiative and the first bi-national seminar on Patagonian Peatlands.

WHO

Christy Gast/ Camila Marambio/ Carla Macchiavello

HOW

Thanks to the Sappho Room residency.

CUÁNDO

3 de abril de 2021 – 15 de junio de 2021

QUÉ

Hasta las rodillas en las turberas de Nueva York y Connecticut: jugando, planificando el plan de estudios, dibujando, escribiendo, haciendo exposiciones.

POR QUÉ

Wildlife Conservation Society-Chile ha diseñado una hoja de ruta estratégica para la conservación y uso sostenible de las turberas, que son un ecosistema en peligro de extinción no solo en Tierra del Fuego sino en todo el mundo. Ensayos está colaborando en la Iniciativa de Turberas Patagónicas y el primer seminario binacional sobre Turberas Patagónicas.

OMS

Christy Gast/ Camila Marambio/ Carla Macchiavello

CÓMO

Gracias a la residencia Safo Room.
Más sobre el texto fuenteSe requiere el texto fuente para obtener información adicional sobre la traducción

Seminario Binacional de Turberas Patagónicas: Guarda la fecha

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Tenemos el agrado de invitarles a participar del Seminario Binacional de Turberas Patagónicas, a desarrollarse en formato virtual el día miércoles 2 de junio, de 09:00 a 13:00 horas Chile central / 10:00 a 14:00 horas Argentina y Región de Magallanes (Chile).

Este encuentro busca analizar estrategias, desafíos, oportunidades y experiencias en torno a las turberas patagónicas, con miras a desarrollar una iniciativa binacional de turberas.

Este evento, organizado por el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente de Chile y WCS, con el apoyo de la Fundación Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung, la Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Ensayos y el Greifswald Mire Center, contará con la participación de actores provinciales, regionales y nacionales con experiencia e interés en las turberas de la Patagonia, además de personas del ámbito científico, de organismos públicos y de organizaciones de la sociedad civil, entre otros.

El seminario se realizará mediante la plataforma Zoom, para confirmar su participación le pedimos inscribirse en el siguiente enlace: https://forms.gle/pBTcfirYNBzLTLqAA

Para cualquier consulta por favor escribir a: npuschel@wcs.org

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the Binational Seminar on Patagonian Peatlands, to be held in virtual format on Wednesday, June 2, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. central Chile / 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Argentina and the Region of Magellan (Chile).

This meeting seeks to analyze strategies, challenges, opportunities, and experiences around Patagonian peatlands, with a view to developing a binational peatland initiative.

This event, organized by the Chilean Ministry of the Environment and WCS, with the support of the Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung Foundation, the National University of Tierra del Fuego, Essays, and the Greifswald Mire Center, will include the participation of provincial actors, regional and national organizations with experience and interest in the peatlands of Patagonia, as well as people from the scientific field, public bodies and civil society organizations, among others.

The seminar will be held through the Zoom platform, to confirm your participation we ask you to register at the following link: https://forms.gle/pBTcfirYNBzLTLqAA

For any questions please write to: npuschel@wcs.org

Una Chadhuri & Olivia Michoko Gagnon on Cucú and Her Fishes

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The New Museum invited two scholars to review the work in process, speak with Ensayos practitioners, and contextualize this work in relation with both current scholarship and the broader cultural moment. Una Chaudhuri’s critically influential work on “eco-theatre” and Olivia Michiko Gagnon’s recent theorization of “closeness” as a research methodology each offers a new entry point into “Cucú and her Fishes,” the culminating project of Ensayos’s residency.

Una Chaudhuri is a Collegiate Professor and Professor of English, Drama, and Environmental Studies at New York University. She is currently the Director of NYU’s XE: Experimental Humanities & Social Engagement. A pioneer in the fields of eco-theater and ecocriticism, her current research, teaching, and creative projects explore what she calls “ecospheric consciousness”: ideas, feelings, and practices that attend to the multi-species and geo-physical contexts of human lives.

Olivia Michiko Gagnon is Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre & Film at the University of British Columbia. She specializes in performance studies, with research and teaching interests in minoritarian performance, cultural production, and multimedia aesthetic practice; critical race and ethnic studies; feminist and queer theory; critical Indigenous studies; archival theory; and performative writing. She is currently working on her first monograph, which brings together a transnational cohort of feminist, Indigenous, and of color artists in order to theorize closeness as a feminist and decolonial method of doing history beyond the archive and through art and performance.

Read here: https://medium.com/@new_museum/reflections-on-cucu-and-her-fishes-d02c8aa80ed7

El Nuevo Museo invitó a dos académicos a revisar el trabajo en proceso, hablar con los practicantes de Ensayos y contextualizar este trabajo en relación con la academia y el momento cultural más amplio. El trabajo críticamente influyente de Una Chaudhuri sobre el “ecoteatro” y la reciente teorización de la “cercanía” de Olivia Michiko Gagnon como metodología de investigación ofrecen un nuevo punto de entrada a “Cucú y sus peces”, el proyecto culminante de la residencia de Ensayos.

Una Chaudhuri es profesora universitaria y profesora de inglés, teatro y estudios ambientales en la Universidad de Nueva York. Actualmente es directora de XE de NYU: Humanidades Experimentales y Compromiso Social. Pionera en los campos del ecoteatro y la ecocrítica, sus actuales proyectos de investigación, docencia y creación exploran lo que ella llama “conciencia ecosférica”: ideas, sentimientos y prácticas que atienden a los contextos multiespecies y geofísicos del ser humano. vive.

Olivia Michiko Gagnon es profesora asistente en el Departamento de Teatro y Cine de la Universidad de Columbia Británica. Se especializa en estudios de performance, con intereses de investigación y docencia en performance minoritaria, producción cultural y práctica estética multimedia; estudios críticos sobre raza y etnia; teoría feminista y queer; estudios indígenas críticos; teoría archivística; y escritura performativa. Actualmente está trabajando en su primera monografía, que reúne a una cohorte transnacional de artistas feministas, indígenas y de color para teorizar la cercanía como un método feminista y decolonial de hacer historia más allá del archivo y a través del arte y la performance.

Lea aquí: https://medium.com/@new_museum/reflections-on-cucu-and-her-fishes-d02c8aa80ed7

Hydrofeminist METitations # 2: Norway

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Hydrofeminist METitations is a listening series brought to you by Ensayos as a part of the digital residency at the New Museum of Contemporary Art. 

Episode 2: Norway 

Act 1: A glaciorhythmic audio collage from the Arctic

Regions of ice and snow can seem like a desert where changes happen slowly and imperceptibly, but the unequivocal fact is that this region is warmed about twice as fast as the global average. The weather conditions in the north can be both an early indicator of the future climate of the rest of the world as well as a driving force for weather patterns worldwide.

The Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic sea is located midway between Norway and the North Pole. In this act we follow Karolin Tampere to one of the world’s northernmost settlements; Ny-Ålesund, where in 2015, she and Randi Nygård were artists-in-residence. This place was established in 1916 for the coal mining industry, but today it is a “science village” located on the island of Spitsbergen, Svalbard.

Norway was granted the right to exercise authority over this archipelago in the 1920’s through the Svalbard Treaty. This agreement secures Norwegian sovereignty, but with certain limitations. The treaty was signed in 1925 by 44 countries, including the United States, Chile, and Australia as well as Russia, China, India, North Korea. 

Both poles, and the sea around them, have become areas of heightened interest, and are today still activated through science, increasing tourism, and growing military presence. A new gold rush, or a sea rush is underway, and the aim is to gain sovereign rights to new resources such as fish, oil, gas, and transportation routes. The Svalbard archipelago has because of its assumed similarity to Mars, also become an experimental ground for testing new technology.

As part of Randi and Karolin´s daily activities they shadowed working international scientists. This act features excerpts from 2015 interviews with scientists Klemens Weisleitner, Angelo Pietro Viola, Kristin M. Schild and a sound collage by Karolin Tampere.

Act 2: On law and poetry

Can seeing a law as poetic help us create new ideas and images of the world?  

We live in a world where people are alienated from nature. Legal structures are invisible, but they determine the ways we relate with the natural world. 

The art project “The Wild Living Marine Resources Belong to Society as a Whole” got its name from Section 2 of the Norwegian Marine Resources Act. It explores the wording of the act not just in terms of standard, legal definitions, but also by taking an open, poetic and profound look at different ways of viewing nature, natural resource management, societal responsibility, language use and values. 

In this act we join artist Randi Nygård as she reads her thought experiment around the legal code governing the marine resources in Norway, “The Wild Living Marine Resources Belong to Society as a Whole”.The project has taken form as an exhibition, an anthology, and a series of events where artists and scientists seek better ways to understand and respond to today’s ecological problems. 

Together with the ensayistas in Norway, Randi believes that affective, poetic knowledge is needed to deepen the relationships that we, humans, have with our surroundings. 

Act 2 features sound recordings of orcas by Lise Doksæter and Petter Kvadsheim of “3S” (Sonar Safety Sea mammals) at FFI and the Institute of Marine Research and Lise Langgård (rumbling cod).

More about the anthology Wild Living Marine Resources Belong to Society as a Whole.

Act 3: A walk along Holsbekken Creek, leading to a canyon of controversies

About an hour’s drive south of Oslo, artists Søssa Jørgensen and Geir Tore Holm own and care for their farm called Øvre Ringstad. On their farm, art merges with life. 

Graywater from their property feeds the Holsbekken Creek which is a narrow, sheltered waterway that drains from the Stormåsan Swamps. These wetlands also receive water from farms, forests, residential areas in the municipality of Skiptvet. We join the artists to the creek in midsummer, and also meet with local farmer Tor Jacob Solberg who tells more about the dreaded black fly Simulium truncatum, which makes life very uncomfortable for people and animals in Skiptvet.

This act is a continuation of Søssa and Geir Tores project Holsbekken (RGB) (2018) made for the exhibition Let the River Flow. The Sovereign Will and the Making of a New Worldliness curated by Katya García-Antón, with Antonio Cataldo at OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway. Advisory Board: Prof. Harald Gaski and Dr. Gunvor Guttorm  OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway in Oslo that focused on the Áltá-Guovdageaidnu Action (c. 1978–82). Its call to ‘let the river live’ was launched against the construction of a large dam across the legendary Álttáeatnu (Áltá river) in Sápmi/Northern Norway. The action grew from an unexpectedly broad movement of solidarity across civil society, Sámi, Norwegian and international, in which Sámi artists played a crucial role. 

Act 4: A rowing journey

The artists Søssa Jørgensen and Geir Tore Holm have been collaborating for decades. 

In 2003 they started the art project Sørfinnset skole/ the nord land, a hyper-local socially engaged work that examines how contemporary art can function in a prolonged dialogue with a local community. Jørgensen and Holm invited Kamin Lertchaiprasert and Rirkrit Tiravanija from the land foundation in Sampatong outside Chiang Mai in northern Thailand as founding partners.

Understandings of ecology and natural habitats in the broad sense have been investigated through activities related to the seasons, construction of small-scale experimental architecture, lectures, concerts, courses, workshops, exhibitions, excursions, hikes, and parties based in Sørfjorden, Gildeskål, Northern Norway. 

Sørfinnset skole/ the nord land will last forever.

This project’s long-term connection to a remote place inspired the founding of Ensayos.

Søssa and Geir Tore undertook an 11 day boat journey above the Arctic Circle in 2018. They traveled in a 16-foot-long wooden skiff called a “færing”. This type of boat has been used by generations of coastal people for transportation, for fishing, and for joy.

The sounds are captured from their journey along the coast. From Sørfinnset they rowed to their retrospective exhibition Collaborations, 1993-2018, 300-miles further north in the city of Tromsø. The entire journey was a performative artwork. 

The text read by Ernst Risan is an excerpt from Floating Studio written by Søssa Jørgensen. 

Act 05: A song sung by farmed sea salmon

In the summer of 2016, Sørfinnset skole/ the nord land went to sea. “Solglimt”, a 52-foot former shrimp boat, was during 5 days, a floating art studio for 11 people. They visited people on the islands, learnt about history, archaeology, and modern fish farming and got fresh sea air into their lungs. 

Salmon farming is an important industry in the fjords around Sørfinnset. The group visited the huge circular nets where salmon are corralled just below the surface. 

The lyrics of the song Kings of the Rivers are composed by fragments from a writing workshop onboard the ship. Artist Christy Gast arranged it into a song and Karolin Tampere recorded her singing in the tiny kitchen of the boat, and added a chorus of salmon.

“The Logbook” is a document from this journey and is a free-standing publication which accompanies the anthology “The Wild Living Marine Resources Belong to Society as a Whole” (2017).

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About Hydrofeminist METitations

Gender studies scholar Astrida Neimanis coined the term “hydrofeminism” to bring together feminist, queer, and ecological sensibilities.* In her words, hydrofeminism begins “one’s ethics and politics from the realization that we are mostly made of water…refusing a separation between nature and culture, between an environment ‘out there’ and a human subject ‘in here.’”

When Ensayos collaborated with Neimanis in 2017, Camila Marambio formulated “METitation” to emphasize Ensayos’ material-somatic research that considers molecular and global relationships in the physical world.** MET is an acronym for Mechanical Electrical Transduction, a sensory mechanism through which cells convert mechanical stimuli into electro-chemical activity. MET accounts for senses of hearing, balance, and touch; hair cells in the inner ear convert the stimuli of drum vibrations, water dropping in the sink, a crashing wave, and voice into electro-chemical signals received by the brain. This transformation is the sense of hearing.

*Astrida Neimanis, “Hydrofeminism: or on Becoming a Body of Water,” in Undutiful Daughters: New Directions in Feminist Thought and Practice, ed. Henriette Dr. Gunkel, Chrysanthi Nigianni, and Fanny Dr. Soderback (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

**“Hydrofeminist METitaions” was first used by Ensayos to describe a live sounding experiment performed by Neimanis, Marambio, Sarita Gálvez, and Karolin Tampere and presented as part of the Liquid Architecture program, “Negative Volumes: Body Languages” held at West Space, Naarm/Melbourne, on October 14th, 2017. 

……

Episode 2 was created by Karolin Tampere, Geir Tore Holm, Søssa Jørgensen, and Randi Nygård, with Ariel Bustamante, Pablo Thiermann, Jack Kohler, Elina Waage Mikalsen, Mr. Creek, Gulls, Ernst Risan, Tor Jacob Solberg, Catalina Jaramillo, Camila Marambio and Christy Gast. Special thanks to Cato Langnes at NOTAM – Norwegian Centre for Technology, Art and Music, and the Municipality of Skiptvet.  Music is by Vera Dvale and “We are all bodies of Water” are the wise words of Astrida Neimanis. 

This project has been funded by the Norwegian General Consulate in New York.

 

 

 

Ensayos: Passages–Ensayo #6

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New York, NY…New Museum’s Department of Education and Public Engagement presents “Ensayos: Passages,” its first online artist residency, foregrounding the department’s year-round commitment to contemporary art and pedagogy centered on personal and social growth. The international collective Ensayos (translated as “inquiries”, “essays,” or “rehearsals” in English) will develop and present new work through this digital residency.

Ensayos is a collective research practice enacted by artists, scientists, activists, policymakers, and local community members. Sustaining their focus on the ecopolitics of archipelagos for the past decade, they have developed distinct inquiries into extinction, human geography, and coastal health. Their New Museum residency will be multifaceted, including a web series, podcasts, public programs, and an experimental performance.

Initiated in Tierra del Fuego, Chile, an archipelago known for its remoteness, biodiversity, and extreme conditions, Ensayos first focused on past and present issues impacting the region at the southern tip of Patagonia. In recent years, various configurations of Ensayos practitioners have explored the shared and localized extremes of the land, water, and life of archipelagos on three additional continents, including inquiries in Eastern Australia, Norway, and New York.

During their New Museum residency, Ensayos will open their intimate methodologies to a larger public. Their deep investigations consider collective identity, colonial history, multispecies communication, Aboriginal law, and the ethics of care in relation to wetlands, the sea, and coastlines. In order to contemplate ecological health from the microscopic to the global, the New Museum program will focus on how storytelling can offer possibilities for connection across remote geographies and diverse ways of experiencing the world.

Through a series of private online rehearsals, Ensayistas are developing the ecofeminist drama Cucú and Her Fishes. The New Museum will premiere Act I, an online production, in September. Several scenes of Ensayos’s speculative play will unfold simultaneously, as performers and participants find sensual and poetic methods of connecting and communicating about ocean health. The title and format are inspired by Fefu and Her Friends, a feminist play written and originally produced in 1977 by iconoclastic Cuban-American playwright María Irene Fornés (1930-2018).

Each month Ensayos will share a different practice and mode of storytelling with the public, including the Season Two premiere of the webseries DISTANCIA, a short-form, episodic reflection on property, representation, and belonging set in Tierra del Fuego; a divination card reading with contributors to a new issue of their periodical Más allá del fin/ Beyond the End, #3.5; and the release of their first series of podcasts Hydrofeminist METitations, three audio works that blend journalism, fiction, and guided somatic exercises.

Lead Ensayistas for the New Museum residency are Ensayos founder and director, curator Camila Marambio (Papudo, Chile) and artist Christy Gast (Amenia, New York), with Aboriginal legal scholar Dr. C.F. Black (Gold Coast, Australia), artist Ariel Bustamante (La Paz, Bolivia), artist Caitlin Franzmann (Brisbane, Australia), educator Sarita Gálvez (Naarm/Melbourne, Australia), artist Søssa Jørgensen (Skiptvet, Norway), art historian Carla Macchiavello (Santiago, Chile), sociologist Denise Milstein (Harlem, New York), Selk’nam activist Hema’ny Molina (Santiago, Chile), artist Randi Nygård (Oslo, Norway), dance-artist Amaara Raheem (Black Range, Australia), ecologist Bárbara Saavedra (Santiago, Chile), artist Carolina Saquel (Paris, France), curator Karolin Tampere (Lofoten, Norway), anthropologist Michael Taussig (Brooklyn, New York), artist Geir Tore Holm (Skiptvet, Norway), ichthyologist Lynne Van Herwerden (Magnetic Island, Australia).

“Ensayos: Passages” is organized for the New Museum by Emily Mello, Associate Director of Education, and Andrew An Westover, Keith Haring Director of Education and Public Engagement.

PROGRAMS

DISTANCIA Season Two 
Premieres Monday, June 15
DISTANCIA, a short-form video series, is created to be broadcast online and uses fictive and sensual qualities to illuminate connections between humans and a fraught landscape. DISTANCIA, Season Two, contemplates life in and with Tierra del Fuego, countering narratives that presume meaning should be sought primarily through scientific observation, ethnographic documentation, and geographic analysis.

Ecofiction at the End of the World 
Tuesday, June 23, 2 PM EDT
This conversation on DISTANCIA, Season Two, will focus on ethical dimensions of storytelling and situated identity in relation to the landscape and feature Carolina Saquel and Camila Marambio, who imagined and realized the web series set in Tierra del Fuego; Ariel Bustamante, sound artist; and anthropologist Michael Taussig.

Hydrofeminist METitations Listening Series 
New episodes launch July 20, July 27, and August 3
Drawing from Ensayos’ transdisciplinary work, this podcast series will focus on waters in different archipelagic regions, including Tierra del Fuego, New York, Eastern Australia, and Norway. The episodes are structured in four movements that mirror different aspects of Ensayos’ field research: fiction, fact, somatic exercise, and water care ethics. Each concludes with a song.

Fortunes of the Forest: Divination, Dance, and Story
August 18, 8 PM EDT
Fortunes of the Forest is a participatory performance that encourages slowness, plant knowledge, movement, listening, observing, and response-ability. Drawing from her divination card deck (created with collaborator Man Cheung’s botanical photographs of plants, rocks, and insects found in the urban forest of Karawatha, Australia), artist Caitlin Franzmann is joined by aboriginal legal scholar Dr. C.F. Black and dancer Amaara Raheem to respond to the cards and audience questions. This program celebrates the launch of Ensayos’ online periodical, Más allá del fin/ Beyond the End, issue # 3.5.

Cucú and Her Fishes, Act I Premiere
Tuesday, September 1, Screenings at 6 AM, 2 PM, and 8 PM EDT
Ensayos’ experimental ecofeminist drama Cucú and Her Fishes casts their undisciplined research methods into cyberspace. Sharing a passion for wetland advocacy, nine characters drive the performance as they plan a second expedition to the bottom of a coastal bog.

ABOUT NEW MUSEUM
The New Museum is the only museum in New York City exclusively devoted to contemporary art. Founded in 1977, the New Museum is a center for exhibitions, information, and documentation about living artists from around the world. From its beginnings as a one-room office on Hudson Street to the inauguration of its first freestanding building on the Bowery designed by SANAA in 2007, the New Museum continues to be a place of experimentation and a hub of new art and new ideas.

SUPPORT
Artist commissions at the New Museum are generously supported by the Neeson / Edlis Artist Commissions Fund. Artist residencies are made possible, in part, by: Laurie Wolfert; the Research & Residencies Council of the New Museum. Further support is provided, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Endowment support is provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; the Skadden, Arps Education Programs Fund; and the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs at the New Museum.

Comadreo Pacífico–Ensayo #4

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WHAT

An Indigenous-led comadreo among women who carry memories, knowledge and practices of care for coastal territories on the east coast of Australia, Pacific Islands, Aotearoa, Perú and Chile. Ensayo #4 defines a comadreo as a non-hierarchical, humorous, tender and creative practice of co-mothering, allowing people to learn together in a culturally safe space that gracefully resists teleological learning and colonial logic.

WHY

Ensayos’ ongoing research happens in conversation and collaboration with many individuals, communities, and institutions. Over the years, these precarious practices have increasingly allowed us to inhabit a vulnerable space of becoming (un)done. Ensayos #4 on coastal conservation poses many location-specific questions about care, custodianship, sovereignty and ancient knowledge. With this residency at Blak Dot, Sarita Gálvez attunes Ensayos’ collective practice of comadreo, based on the notion of co-mothering, to current environmental pressures on marine ecosystems from Indigenous perspectives. We situate our practice in the South, not only geographically but also epistemologically, acknowledging the many traversal passages that have woven the Pacific Ocean and Southern skies for millennia.

WHERE

At Blak Dot Gallery (Naarm / Melbourne, Australia) with heartfelt threads woven across to Quandamooka country, Karokynka, Aotearoa, Pacific Islands, Chile and Perú.

WHEN

The residency will take place in June and July 2020 with a community event planned for November 2020.

HOW

Comadreando– yarning, laughing, sharing cups of tea and mate, walking along coasts, weaving, writing and singing to each other.

Supported by the City of Melbourne COVID-19 Arts Grants.

WHO

Patricia Messier (Kawéskar craftswoman and educator), Sonja Carmichael (Quandamooka weaver and writer), Gina Ropiha (Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Raukawa artist and educator), Veisinia Tonga (Tongan/Australian storyteller), Sarita Gálvez (Chilean/Australian educator), Pamela Arce (Peruvian artist)

Image: basket in progress by Patricia Messier

Decolonising Mourning: World-Making with the Selk’nam People of Karokynka/Tierra del Fuego

In an article published in Australian Feminist Studies, a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal, Hema’ny Molina and Camila Marambio of Ensayo #5 and Nina Lykke of Ensayo #6 co-authored a paper that critiques ethnographic historic ethnographic fieldwork in Tierra del Fuego, unearthing its complicity with the myth of Selk’nam extinction.

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Published By The Australian Feminist Studies Journal Online: 04 Jun 2020

Full article can be accessed via the PDF below or dowloaded from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08164649.2020.1774865

Co-authored by Hema’ny Molina Vargas, Camila Marambio & Nina Lykke

Abstract: This article discusses death, mourning and decolonisation, focusing on the Selk’nam of Karokynka/Tierra del Fuego, Chile. Methodologically, it is grounded in feminist experiments of bringing creative and personalised writing into an academic scholarship to challenge subject/object-relations, and to generate platforms for affective, world-making intra-actions and undoings of power. Through collaborative efforts of three differently situated co-authors, using poetic epistolary forms of address, the article unfolds an indigenous centred, feminist, decolonial methodology. Along similar lines, the theoretical approach to death and mourning is pluriversal, transgressing Western epistemologies and ontologies. Through letters, addressed to dead and alive, human and non-human key actors in a revitalising of Selk’nam culture, the article questions ethico-politically in/appropriate ways of mourning the consequences of the necropolitics imposed on the Selk’nam through white colonisation, Western modernity and its colonial matrix of necropower. It is critically addressed how mourning the lost became embedded in colonial discourses of white melancholia and humanism. Moreover combining creative writing methodologies, inspired by feminism, posthumanism, and by indigenous activism and practices of reviving Selk’nam culture, the authors use their different locations to search affirmatively for ways of mourning, which open horizons towards decolonising, cultural revitalising, reclaiming of indigenous rights and philosophies of death and mourning.

KEYWORDS: Selk’nam cultureKarokynkadecolonisation of mourningwhite melancholiaindigenous centred feminist decolonial methodologyintra-action with the deadindigenous philosophy
 
 
08164649.2020

Forget-me-not: Environmental Research

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While developing the syllabus for “Ensayando Ensayos,” an Art & Ecology course taught by Ensayistas Christy Gast and Camila Marambio for the University of Hartford’s NOMAD Interdisciplinary MFA, we requested that our collaborators and colleagues working in ecology, biology, anthropology, activism, policy management and sociology share some of the most significant peer-reviewed papers in their field.

Familiarizing ourselves with research in our collaborators’ fields is an important Ensayos methodology, and often leads to experiments that expand on scientific fact by cross-pollinating research and fieldwork with artistic understandings of the same environmental questions. After undertaking one such thought experiment with our students (results above), we feel it is important to make this resource available beyond our students. Most of the papers are available online, otherwise you can contact us for a link to a shared Google drive with PDF’s via the contact form below.

Thanks to sociologist Denise Milstein, gender studies scholar Astrida Neimanis, artist Randi Nygård, anthropologist Laura Ogden, ecologist Bárbara Saavedra, policy program manager Noah Chesnin, Miccosukee activist Reverend Houston Cypress, and ichthyologist Lynne van Herwerden for their work and recommendations.

Bibliography

Arata, Javier & Vila, Alejandro & Matus, Ricardo & Droguett, Daniela & Silva-Quintas, Carlos & Falabella, Valeria & Robertson, Graham & Haro, Daniela. “Use and exploitation of channel waters by the black-browed albatross.” Polar Biology 37 (2014). 10.1007/s00300-014-1458-1.

Hancock, P.J., Boulton, A.J. & Humphreys, W.F. “Aquifers and hyporheic zones: Towards an ecological understanding of groundwater.” Hydrogeol J 13, (2005): 98–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-004-0421-6

Heindler FM, Alajmi F, Huerlimann R, et al. “Toxic effects of polyethylene terephthalate microparticles and Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate on the calanoid copepod, Parvocalanus crassirostris.” Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 141 (2017): 298‐305. doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.03.029

Langemeyer, Johannes & Connolly, James. “Weaving notions of justice into urban ecosystem services research and practice.” Environmental Science & Policy 109 (2020): 1-14. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.03.021.

Nyqvist, Daniel & Durif, Caroline & Johnsen, Magnar & de Jong, Karen & Forland, Tonje & Sivle, Lise. “Electric and magnetic senses in marine animals, and potential behavioral effects of electromagnetic surveys.” Marine Environmental Research 155 (2020): 104888. 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.104888

Lewis, S., Maslin, M. “Defining the Anthropocene.” Nature 519 (2015): 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14258.

Vila, Alejandro R., et al. “Identifying High-Value Areas to Strengthen Marine Conservation in the Channels and Fjords of the Southern Chile Ecoregion.” Oryx, vol. 50, no. 2 (2016): 308–316., doi:10.1017/S0030605314000908.

Wassmann, Paul, and Timothy M Lenton. “Arctic tipping points in an Earth system perspective.” Ambio vol. 41,1 (2012): 1-9. doi:10.1007/s13280-011-0230-9

 

 

 

Reconnecting the Yaghan community to cultural belongings: 90 years on

In an article published in the Australian magazine Artlink, a quarterly themed journal covering contemporary art and ideas from Australia and the Asia-Pacific, Rebecca Carland (Ensayo #5) recounts the community consultation and nuts-and-bolts work that goes into decolonizing projects, from the perspective of a museum worker. Ensayo #5 is concerned with reconnecting Fuegian communities to their cultural objects and archives around the world. Ensayos is collaborating with the Museo Antropológico Martín Gusinde, the Comunidad Indígena Yagan Bahía Mejillones, and the Melbourne Museum on a groundbreaking project.

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Authored by Ensayista Rebecca Carland and edited by Léuli Eshraghi and Kimberley Moulton, “Reconnecting the Yaghan community to cultural belongings: 90 years on” was published in Artlink Special Issue: INDIGENOUS Kin Constellations Volume 40 Issue 2 (Jun 2020).

Abstract: My name is Rebecca Carland. I am a senior curator at Museums Victoria, based at Melbourne Museum. My work centres on the history of the museum’s collections, how they came to the museum, and their journey through time and space. Like many museums established in the nineteenth century, we care for vast First Nations collections, from Australia and around the world. Increasingly, our work with these collections occurs against a backdrop of profound change in the museum’s approach to First Peoples’ authority. We are guided by a transformational principle which seeks to place First Peoples’ living cultures and histories at the core of our practice. Our current project, ‘Lost in Translation’, sits at the intersection of this new paradigm and the colonial legacy – collaborating with and giving back to the Yaghan community of Chile, who continue to practice their culture and connection to their lands.

Yaghan Elders including President David Alday, Julia González, Martín González Calderón and Veronica and Violeta Balfor are leading this project, along with independent curator and Museums Victoria Honorary Associate, Camila Marambio, working with Rebecca Carland.

The curators and community Elders are grateful for the extraordinary support of Alberto Serrano, Director, Museo Antropológico Martín Gusinde, Navarino, Chile.

Image credit: Yaghan canoe in storage at the Melbourne Museum, photo by Jacqueline Shelton

 

 

FATHOM- New Addition to Environmental Humanities Living Lexicon

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In the current issue of Environmental Humanities, Volume 12, Issue 1, published on May 1, 2020, Ensayos founder, Camila Marambio collaborated with Suzanne Pratt, Killian Quigley, Sarah Hamylton, Leah Gibbs, Adriana Vergés, Michael Adams, Ruth Barcin and Astrida Neimanis defining the term FATHOM.

The Living Lexicon is a series of 1,000 word essays that respond to this challenge. Each essay highlights the importance of a particular keyword, demonstrating how it might help the Environmental Humanities to move in interesting directions that take seriously this dual imperative for critique and action. The pieces are both scholarly and creative, and include personal reflections by authors and experimental musings based on their own research. The Lexicon aims for concise, provocative prose, rather than dictionary-style entries. Lexicon entries are peer-reviewed using a standard double-blind process and published in a special section of Environmental Humanities.

Environmental Humanities is a peer-reviewed, international, open-access journal. The journal publishes outstanding interdisciplinary scholarship that draws humanities disciplines into conversation with each other, and with the natural and social sciences, around significant environmental issues. The Environmental Humanities inhabit a difficult space of simultaneous critique and action. Scholarship in this field is grounded in an important tension between, on the one hand, the common critical focus of the humanities in “unsettling” dominant narratives, and, on the other, the dire need for thoughtful and constructive practice in these dark times.

Fathom

NYC Screening: DISTANCIA / SE HABLA ESPAÑOL in conversation with ENSAYOS

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The 8th Floor | 17 West 17th Street | 646.839.5908 | info@the8thfloor.org
Monday, November 25, 2019
7 to 9pm

Screening: DISTANCIA is a collaboration between Se habla español and Ensayos. Presented for the first time in New York, DISTANCIA is a web series that addresses problems related to political ecology set in Tierra del Fuego, Chile. After the screening, Se habla español will moderate and open a conversation with Carla Macchiavello, Camila Marambio, and Carolina Saquel of Ensayos, calling attention to ethical bio-cultural practices and the problems of the representation of landscape.

DISTANCIA_22_11

Slow Down Fast, A Toda Raja Book Launch at Printed Matter

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Slow Down Fast, A Toda Raja — A conversation with Camila Marambio and Cecilia Vicuña
November 15, 2019
6-8 PM

Printed Matter is pleased to announce a book launch for Slow Down Fast, A Toda Raja by Camila Marambio and Cecilia Vicuña, published by Errant Bodies Press as part of its Doormats series. Join the event on facebook here.

“This is a book of the female giggling that terrifies men.”

— James O’Hern, poet.

In this brilliant intergenerational dialogue, curator Camila Marambio and artist Cecilia Vicuña, one of the most intriguing Indoamerican artists of our times, converse about mestizaje/miscenegation, ecological disaster, eroticism and decolonisation in their multilingual, irreverent and humorous slang.

The result is a unique book that presents a conversation that is both poetic and critical. The particular dialogue presented in the book crosses over from Spanish to English, from poetry to academic argumentation, and from art to science. It proposes a necessary method for decolonial liberation, which reveals the transformative power of art in search of “an ecology of the soul, the resplendence of our connectivity to each other and the cosmos.”

The book, which they began working on in 2015 through recorded meetings that were then transcribed, was edited by Helen Hughes and published in Berlin by Errant Bodies Press, and will be presented at Printed Matter by Camila Marambio and Cecilia Vicuña.

Public Lecture: Dreaming Together/Apart at the Brisbane Free University

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Tuesday 1st October, 6.30pm – 8pm at Bunyapa Park Corner Thomas and Vulture Streets, West End 4101.

Join Christine Black and Camila Marambio in conversation to delve into the philosophies and feelings behind Christine’s book ‘The Land is the Source of the Law: A Dialogic Encounter with an Indigenous Jurisprudence’ (Routledge 2011).

The two women have found they share their use of subjectivity and the dialogical to make urgent points in an era of fast changing reality. Camila recently published the book ‘Slow Down Fast, A Toda Raja’ (Errant Bodies Press, 2019) with the poet Cecilia Vicuña, which much like Christine’s 2017 book ‘A Mosaic of Indigenous Legal Thought: Legendary Tales and Other Writings’ (Routledge, 2017), is aimed to be political, as well as calling on the younger generations to think about how they form their moral compass. Following on from this coincidence, Christine and Camila’s conversation will explore the depths of Christine’s illuminating concept of ‘Indigenous jurisprudence’ which can be translated as follows:

“A ritual/sacred formula to produce good health in a knowledge system based on being with – in, a system of two – di, based on being within a productive/creative complimentary system of relations (Black 2011, 13).”

Finally, if there is time, the conversation will also address the ways in which they also share an interest in AI and plant consciousness.

Biographies:

Dr Christine (C.F.) Black is a descendant of the Kombumerri and the Munaljahlai of South East Qld, Australia. She is an intellectual explorer of ancient Indigenous concepts and the latest technological developments such as autonomous decision making systems and plant consciousness. She explores these concepts and developments through her fiction and engagements with the general public. Her PhD thesis focused on bringing forth the concept of Indigenous Jurisprudence in the Australian context. Black has made story her ‘legal structure’ in which to convey knowledge pertinent to the understanding that the Land (Earth) as the source of the law, as juxtaposed to the Common Law concept of land as property. She has published two Routledge publications: The Land is the Source of the Law: A Dialogic Encounter with an Indigenous Jurisprudence (Routledge, 2011) and A Mosaic of Indigenous Legal Thought: Legendary Tales and Other Writings (Routledge, 2017).

She is also developing research with Native American and South American colleagues around the understanding of plant consciousness and the role of plants in Indigenous societies as knowledge holders. Her first publication on the issue is On Lives Lived with Law: Land as Healer, (Law, Text Culture Jl.)

Camila Marambio
She is 68% Southern European, 10% Native American and 0.2% Scandinavian according to 23&me.
She was part of a magic circle according to Juan Esteban Varela.
She set up a laboratory for making time according to visitors
at the IMA in Brisbane.
She has developed a method to communicate with beavers according to a peer-reviewed science journal.
She has stolen part of an artwork at Moderna museet in Stockholm
according to an anonymous source.
She flatlined twice according to doctors. But is still alive according to multiple sources.
She is developing an ecology of the soul according to Cecilia Vicuña.
She is queering cancer according to Nina Lykke.
She is a character in the novel Headless according to her own
account.
/Bio according to Goldin+Senneby

https://www.facebook.com/events/494532724612111/

Brisbane Free University occurs on the unceded lands of the Jagera and Turrbal peoples. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to all First Nations communities around the country. Sovereignty over these lands was never ceded.

Magnetic Isle Connect – Ensayo #4

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WHEN

September 10 – 28, 2019

WHAT

After the opening of our exhibition, Everything is Possibly an Oracle, we headed to the central highlands, traversing thirsty country on high fire alert.  Guided by our friend, Dale Harding, we accepted an invitation from Carol and Trent Vincent, who are custodians of Saddler’s Springs, an 8100ha property nestled between Carnarvon Gorge and Mt. Moffat National Parks. We were hosted at Junjuddie Flats, an eco-centre originally set up by the landowner for wilderness programs engaging disadvantaged youths and now occasionally used for wilderness retreats.

Feeling the junjuddie, undine and our guides – the ancient zamias, a hairy caterpillar, playful birds and purple darling peas – we clambered the slopes in search of the northernmost headwater of the Murray-Darling Basin. Finding the source evoked more questions than answers.  Where does the water that seeps from this mossy crevice come from? Where does it flow to? What waters move beneath us? How does it connect to the sea? And so, filled with curiosity of hydrological lines and underground reservoirs, we returned to our camp, singing the creek along the way.

Carol and Trent shared their love and deep respect for the land and their fears that the pending sale of the property will lead to an eco-resort and a type of tourism that disregards what is sacred. We brainstormed ways in which it could remain in their care, questioning mechanisms of land ownership and national parks, discussing collectivity, responsibilities and access, and highlighting the rights of the traditional custodians, the Bidjara people. They spoke of a 200-year plan, even a 500-year plan – a plan that shifts the focus from short-term human benefit to long-term needs of all non-human life and spirit inhabiting the property.

With futures beyond our lifetime in mind, and feeling the tug of full moon, we sought the ritual knowledge of birth and death present in Carnarvon Gorge. Whilst we seemed to be the only humans in the gorge that night, we knew we were not alone as we criss-crossed the sinuous creek and attuned our senses. Sounding our presence, hands welcomed us to the vulva – the origin – repeated amongst stories painted and carved into the sandstone walls.

Further north, in the wet tropics, we took the opportunity offered to us by our newest collaborator, ichthyologist Lynne van Herwerden, to spend some days at a rainforest-clad property near Ingham, swimming waterholes and navigating the creeks flow, negotiating ‘wait-a-while’ vines and diversions along the way. Here we rehearsed ‘slowing down fast’, becoming a ritual of water, buoyant bodies and laughter that was re-performed with collaborator Cecilia Vicuña at Errant Bodies Studio in Berlin.

Feeling our way into the underwater world that concerns us, we joined Lynne at her home on Yunbenun (Magnetic Island) learning how to SCUBA, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, sailing offshore to sight dolphins and turtles, and walking its national parks to understand the relationality between sea and land conservation. Our nights were spent discussing Lynne’s academic research, her family’s activism, and the spirited force that will fuel Ensayos’s response to the challenges that Lynne’s research has made visible. Playfully rehearsing how to communicate the threats being faced by the bottom of the food web (phytoplankton), we also spent time at James Cook University’s Green (Screen) Room.

Gaining confidence in our newly-formed fins, we continued snorkeling with local artist and curator of the Bundaberg Regional Gallery, Anita Holtsclaw, along the shore reef at Barolin Rocks, near Bargara. Inspired to go deeper, we ventured offshore to Wallaginji, a word that means ‘beautiful reef’ to traditional custodians of the region, the Tarebilang Bunda, Bailai, Gooreng Gooreng, and Gurang people. Some of our group strolled the coral cay, learning of its formation by wind, waves and shifting coral rubble and how it is held together by a sticky web of birds, insects and pisonia trees. Others dove into the calm lagoon and then into the shifting currents of the outer reef, sighting a Wobbygong shark, an orgy of sea turtles, and hearing the call of the humpback whales returning south with their young. Questions of the impacts of tourism on the Great Barrier Reef, the attitudes with which tour agencies operate, followed us along the coastline as we participated and observed.

Cooran, our final destination before circling back to the city, offered a quiet valley at the base of Pinbarren Mountain, where we paused with our origins, questions, feelings and practices – tuning, tarot, singing, writing, poetry, flower essences, cyanotype, video and field recording.

WHY

Fires are burning.

Because the Great Artesian Basin was once sea and the Murray-Darling Basin meets the southern coastline. Because the land is salty and dry and, still, trees are being bulldozed and water is being diverted.

To trace the flows of water from sandstone ranges and tropical rainforests to underground reservoirs and the complex systems of rivers, creeks and streams. Because meeting and acknowledging the source of our waters is a step toward understanding what waterways need and how to act with and for water.

To learn about reef health, the effects of microplastics and climate change in the ocean and what scientist Lynne van Herwerden and her colleagues at James Cook University in Townsville, QLD are doing about it, in advance of the collaboration that the Australian pod of Ensayo #4 has initiated with the inhabitants of the Coral Reef and its custodians.

Because 5, 10, 30-year plans are inadequate to address environmental issues that present long term risks to the earth.

The pumice stone is approaching.

WHO

Caitlin Franzmann, Christy Gast, Camila Marambio, Lynne van Herwerden, Anita Holtsclaw, Carol and Trent Vincent.

HOW

Big Mama, the van that got us places.

Camping in backyards and bush retreats through the generosity of our hosts.   

The Queensland Government through Arts Queensland funded our travel and research.

 

 

ladistancia.tv

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The first season of the short-form web series DISTANCIA is online.

Tierra del Fuego resists being grasped by canonical approaches to knowledge. If objective observation, ethnographic interpretation and geographic analysis seem to have exhausted themselves, what other method is there? Or must the query be abandoned all together? But how does one abandon a desire, and the question of how to learn an other’s language, its language? Peripheral tactics must be attempted. Like a horror story that fictionalizes a crime to stir up the emotion of fear, DISTANCIA fictionalizes the method of Ensayos through which a group of researchers in Tierra del Fuego comes closer to comprehending the archipelago.

The experience of ensayar (rehearsing) is dispersed, it isn’t anything in itself, it is ruffled by the wind, it is forgotten with the irruption of a motor, it becomes insignificant in the rain. From the desolate distance of being what one is, of not being a machine, of not being a horse, nor a road, nor a mountain, nor a cloud, nor Selk’nam, it is possible to suspend the ambition of having any certainty of what any one-thing is. Without doing away with difference, without replacing anyone, without negating the uncomfortable feeling of distance, without appropriating an external point of view, ensayar proposes a mode of faking the manner of the Other, of everything.

When a couple (or a group) of people share a decolonial desire, certain capabilities and defenses are developed. These faculties help them survive. The capability of unknowing oneself is the first tool we’ve discovered. And with every Ensayo, we delve deeper into this practice of play-acting to be one another; this is how ensayar makes us more bizarre, more assertive, more responsible, more response-able. In order to begin to ensayar, there are endless stories, relationships, and contacts that one must necessarily grasp. This data-base is shared and collectivized, but nonetheless each one also has to experience the archipelagic state of mind for themselves. It’s a complex way of going about it, because it implies great commitment, but these also serve a purpose, they become survival tactics (maps, guides, blueprints) that we then exchange in order to feel sound and speak of our existence.

She awaited us,

Magnificent,

on the other side of the Strait.

Night fell as we advanced

and I remained silent, expectant.

The child inside the car

asked all the difficult questions,

and the doctor replied with his certainties.

The rest of us said nothing.

Every so often, sighs were heard.

These wrung out the only certainty:

there is still a long road ahead.

I commented, to myself:

What are we if we abandon science, theory, and interpretation?

Carolina asked us to stop,

she pulled out her camera,

and attached it to the car.

I admired her.

The camera is now strapped to be the car
and the picture will fake the position of the pickup truck

gliding along the road,
we then did the same with everything else.

DISTANCIA pictures this other way of being. Recovering and examining irrational manners and erased realities, we criticize consensual reality; recovering and examining other’s languages we criticize our own means, also imperialist, also a resource. DISTANCIA is not preconceived. The ensayos accumulated, we mulled over the material, edited in parts, and gave shape to this virtual object. Every shot, every sequence, every cut, every sound, insists on the living and actual participation of at least two things that, at the very least, generate one another: human on human, human on more than human, and more than human on more than human.

“Let’s go hungry,” I suggested.

“Yes, please,” she answered.

We walked in silence for a long while,
and then she brought it up:

What if the island is the criminal?

Tierra del Fuego? I asked.

She nodded yes.

-Camila Marambio, Noviembre 2018

Ñirres film still by Carolina Saquel

La Tierra del Fuego se resiste a ser comprendida por las aproximaciones canónicas del conocimiento. Si la lectura y el análisis, la observación objetiva y la etnografía parecen estar agotadas ¿quedará algún otro método? ¿o habrá que abandonar la inquietud? Pero, ¿cómo se abandona una duda y la curiosidad de aprehender otros idiomas, su idioma? Habrá que intentar otra táctica. Así, como una historia de terror ficciona un crimen y la emoción del miedo es vívida, DISTANCIA ficciona otra cosa, el método con el que un grupo de investigadores fueguinos hemos conseguido aproximarnos más a la comprensión de este archipiélago: el Ensayo.

La experiencia de ensayar es difusa, no es nada en sí, se funde con el viento, se olvida con la irrupción del bomba, se vuelve insignificante con la lluvia. Desde la desoladora distancia de ser lo que se es, de no ser máquina, de no ser caballo, ni camino, ni montaña, ni nube, ni Selk’nam, se puede suspender la ambición de tener certeza de lo que algo es y, sin acabar con las diferencias, sin reemplazar a nadie, sin dejar de sentir distancia, sin adueñarse de ningún punto de vista ajeno, es que el Ensayo propone estar y fingir el modo del Otro, de todo.

Cuando un par o un grupo de personas comparten el deseo decolonial, se desarrollan ciertas capacidades y defensas. Estas facultades sirven para sobrevivir. La capacidad de desconocerse es la principal herramienta que hemos descubierto. Y con cada Ensayo ahondamos en esto de fingir ser otro y así es como ensayar nos vuelve más bizarros, más asertivos, más responsables, más hábiles para responder. Para comenzar a ensayar hay un sin fin de historias, relaciones, y contactos que se tienen que necesariamente aprehender. Esta base de datos se comparte y se colectiviza, pero cada cual también tiene que experienciar por sí mismo el estado mental archipilágico. Es una forma compleja de proceder, porque implica grandes compromisos, pero éstos también sirven; se vuelven tácticas de sobrevivencia (mapas, guías, planos) que luego intercambiamos para sentirnos cuerdos y compartir el sentido de nuestra existencia.

Ella nos esperaba,

esplendorosa,

al otro lado del Estrecho.

Se hacía de noche a medida que avanzábamos,

 y yo, expectante, callaba.

El niño dentro del auto

se ocupó de hablar de los temas difíciles,

 y el médico de responderle con certezas.

Las otras nada decíamos.

A cada rato se escuchaban suspiros.

Estos exprimían lo que único cierto:

aún queda mucho camino por recorrer.     

Para mis adentros me comenté

¿Qué somos si abandonamos la ciencia, la teoría, y la lectura?

Carolina pidió que paráramos, sacó su cámara, y la adosó al auto.

Yo la admiré.

Ahora la cámara fingía ser el vehículo

 y la imagen tendría la visión de la camioneta enfrentando el camino,

 y así hicimos con todo lo demás.

Con DISTANCIA creamos esa otra forma de estar. Recuperamos y examinamos estéticas no-occidentales, mientras criticamos las occidentales. Recuperamos y examinamos modos irracionales y realidades borradas mientras criticamos la realidad consensuada; recuperamos y examinamos otras lenguas mientras criticamos la propia, imperialista también, recurso también. La DISTANCIA no es preconcebida. Los ensayos se fueron acumulando, luego se masticaron, editaron, y dieron forma a este objeto virtual. Cada plano, cada secuencia, cada corte, cada sonido, insiste en la participación viva y actual de por lo menos dos cosas que, al menos, generan otra más, humano con humano, humano con más que humano y más que humano con más que humano.

“¿Pasemos hambre?” le dije.

“Si, por favor,” me contestó.

Caminamos por largo rato en silencio,

y luego sugirió:

¿Y qué si la isla es la criminal?

¿La Tierra del Fuego? pregunté.

Asintió con la cabeza.

-Camila Marambio, Noviembre 2018

Ñirres, fotografía fija de Carolina Saquel

International research group comes to Canaipa Island

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by Sharon Jewell for the The Friendly Bay Islander

On Tuesday August 27, a group of four inquisitive and peculiarly talented women from regions as far as Chile and New York, alighted on Canaipa Island. With their large van, Big Mama, loaded for a special kind of journey, they came in search of something not yet known, but certain of finding links to their global coastal research. Ready to be alert to the island’s magic, from the newly blossoming wildflowers of Turtle Swamp, to the sprawling mangroves of the littoral shores; from the decaying carcass of an automobile stranded in the mud flats to the creamy white clay of the western shores, they gathered notes, filmed, recorded sound.

They are members of the research program Ensayos, which seeks collaborative opportunities between art and science, with particular attention to ecologies and the complex world of post-colonialism. While the centre of their studies is the remote region of Tierra del Fuego, they see the ecological and humanitarian concerns there as sharing salient characteristics with issues across the globe; similarities that nourish mutual understanding and provide triggers for insight and artistic collaboration. Who might have thought that looking at a small island in Southern Moreton Bay might feed into the stories of such far-away places as the islands and shores of the Americas’ southern-most reaches?

The visitors were Camila Marambio (Chile / Australia), curator and founder of the program, Ensayos; Christy Gast, (New York), a felter and weaver, with a research interest in “contested landscapes”; Carla Machiavello (Chile / New York), an art historian with a special interest in Latin American contemporary art; and Caitlin Franzman (Australia), an artist whose practice involves the creation of spaces of meeting and what she calls “Divination”. She also teaches art at QUT. Their observations will form part of an international investigation into the special types of learning and knowledges that come from observing and interpreting coastal and island contexts.

Whilst on the island, they met with Canaipa Mudlines Art and Environment artists, Sharon Jewell and Tricia Dobson and exchanged observations and experiences of coastal and particularly island habitation. There was a visit to Tricia Dobson’s studio, where a group of artists was involved in weaving and printing projects of their own. Tricia’s extraordinary weavings were of considerable interest here, and questions surrounding techniques and materials both traditional and experimental, gave rise to lively conversation. Paul Andrew was able to shed some light on local histories while Nick Dobson clarified the names and occurrences of the wild flowers we had seen in the forests of Turtle Swamp and Melomy’s.

Throughout the day, we moved across and around the island, and I was to choose some key sites; sites that would reveal the diversity and richness of this place. In my involvement with Canaipa Mudlines over the past three years, I have come to know and love not only particular sites, but the ways they connect, and merge and also diversify, sometimes quite suddenly. As a guide, however, my attention was aroused to the island in a different way, through the inquiring eyes of others, through their slow and thorough apprehension of small things, and the ways they found to document and record and connect with these things. At one point we were all perched within and around the branches of a sprawling mangrove tree out on a remote stretch of the eastern littoral. There we focused on the crisp and distant fibres of sound that encircled us, and recorded our own voices in imitation of these sounds. It was like painting the landscape, but a painting for the ears instead of the eyes! At the end of the day, as we sat around a small fire, reflecting on the experience and preparing for goodbyes, it occurred to me that one gets to know a place not only by looking, but by looking, listening, pausing, with others, through the senses of others.

The Ensayos group are now travelling north to continue their work exploring coastal health and environmental issues facing coastal communities. Along with findings and responses to their stay on Minjerriba prior to coming to Canaipa, their work is given expression in a collaborative exhibition that opened on Saturday September 7, at Milani Gallery in Brisbane’s West End. The exhibition will culminate with a performance on Saturday September 28. The details along with their website link are below:

Ensayos, Everything is possibly an oracle, Milani Gallery, closing event 28/ 09, 2pm, 270 Montague Road, West End.

Ensayos website: https://ensayostierradelfuego.net

Everything is Possibly An Oracle, at Milani Gallery, Brisbane

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Exhibition at CARPARK, Milani Gallery, Brisbane, Australia.

Opening: Saturday, 7 September 2019, 5-7pm

Closing performance: Saturday, 28 September 2019, 2pm-4pm

What if, in times of uncertainty and doubt, we first turned to a rock, a tree, an ant, or the tides as a source of reflection and possible understandings? What if we understood that water is listening to our stories and water can also tell us what it needs? What if oracular utterances were central to societal and political choices? What if we were dedicated to feeling beyond our first perceptions? These are the questions that animate the exhibition Everything is possibly an oracle.

Nine months ago, on Karokynka, in the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, some of the Ensayo #4: Coastal Curriculum researchers got into an accident. The result of this flip turn was the encounter with an oracular message, the complexity of which mobilised the swell of Ensayos’ coastal inquiry to the shores of Australia.

Taking a liquid, archipelagic approach to loosening the knot of the mystifying ways in which things come to matter, Everything is possibly an oracle unfolds the imaginative seeing techniques, languages and sensing practices that Caitlin Franzmann (lead of the Australia research pod), Christy Gast (lead of the New York research pod) and Camila Marambio (founder of Ensayos) have been exploring together and apart for years. This time, their felting, weaving, dyeing, drawing, singing, divining, drifting, crying, wailing, tuning, hosting, dancing, filming, falling, writing and macerating conspire to soften the portals that channel the aqueous knowledge of bodies of water on this planet.

This exhibition is a part of Ensayos, a nomadic research program initiated in Tierra del Fuego in 2010. Ensayo #4 (Coastal Curriculum) involves research pods in Tierra del Fuego, Norway, New York, and now, Australia. The artists, scientists and scholars who partake in Ensayos meet intermittently to cross-pollinate and share their experiences with archipelagic intersections of identity, history, geography, language and law. In the weeks leading up to Everything is possibly an oracle, Caitlin, Camila, and Christy, along with Sarita Gálvez and Carla Macchiavello (also of Ensayos) spent time on the isles of Minjerribah and Canaipa and later also consulted the Brisbane River and the Enoggera Reservoir on the question of how to turn from meaning to mattering.

Ensayos honours the traditional custodians of the lands and waters were we roam and learn, including the Selk’nam, Yaghan, Kawéskar and Haush peoples of Tierra del Fuego and the Jagara, Yuggera, Turrbal, Quandamooka people of South-East Queensland. We give special thanks to Freja, Sonja and Glynn Carmichael, Sharon Jewell, Dale Harding, Helen Franzmann and Denny Ryan, Kathy and Peter Franzmann, Kyle Weiss, Lawrence English, Christine Black and Mary Graham.

This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

Ensayos Outer Space

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‘Felting/Feeling’
A Wool Felting Workshop
Led by Christy Gast

Saturday, 31st August, 12:30–2:00pm
Outer Space
1/170 Montague Road,
South Brisbane

Open process-ing (making and talking): Wet felting of wool is a tactile process during which the animal fibres must be shocked, massaged, and submerged in hot and cold water repeatedly. Wool dyed with foraged, plant-derived colours will be shocked and bound into a subtle spectrum. What is shocking? Why does visibility matter?


‘Generative Writing’
A Poethical Writing Workshop
Led by Camila Marambio

Saturday, 31st August, 2:30–4:00pm
Outer Space
1/170 Montague Road,
South Brisbane

Inspired by the dramaturgical exercises of María Irene Fornés, the scholarly work of Nina Lykke, and the poems of Clara Brack, in this workshop we will tap into the potency of automatic writing and the subconscious. Bring your writer’s block, a creative question, a writing task, a problem or a question to explore its language and what it wants.

Carla Macchiavello
‘¡Ayayay! (From Eye to I to Ay!):
Reflexive Translations
and Video Bodies in Downey’s
Videos and Beyond’

Saturday, 31st August, 4:30pm
Outer Space
1/170 Montague Road,
South Brisbane

‘I wish to eroticise politics’, said Juan Downey in one of his notebooks when working on one of his best-known series of video works, Video Trans Americas (1973–79). Eroticism was here understood as a larger human project of survival, needing inter-species, human-machine collaborations. Feedback would meet eros, the thinking I/eye would meet the feeling body/¡ay!, looping desire, longing, bodies, memories … Downey’s works have been analysed as part of larger North American networks that created feedback loops between art and anthropology (as both were working with audiovisual technologies and reflexivity), art and television/agency of media, art and science. But the connections between politics and eroticism have been largely downplayed by scholars, as have been other networks of peripheral collaborations, translating desire across cultures and bodies, cannibalising received histories. From his early works with machines and perception to his late works in which the body beats to the sound of political dissent and indigenous drums, translating and transferring languages and pulsations, another perhaps erotic map of video networks might be traced.

MV Lectures: Lost in Tierra del Fuego

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WEDNESDAY 21 AUGUST 2019
6PM–7.30PM

Awakening a forgotten collection from South America by reconnecting to its source community, the Yaghan.

In 1929 Australian Anthropologist, Baldwin Spencer and Ms. Jean Hamilton travelled to Tierra Del Fuego to study the Yaghan people, who they defined as a dying race. Two months later it was Spencer who was dead.

Lost and alone 11,000 km from home, Jean sailed treacherous seas to deliver his body for burial and present what would become a small collection at Melbourne Museum.

Discover the layered loss embedded in the expedition, the collection and historic museum practices and the knowledge exchange that comes from reconnecting with the living culture.

Join the museum team and (via video link) members of the Yaghan community on Navarino Island in Chile as they discuss the expedition and collection that connects the two and reveal plans to forge new connections.

Speakers:

Yaghan community

Alberto Serrano, Director Museo Antropológico Martín Gusinde on Navarino Island

Senior curator, Rebecca Carland

Artist/ curator of Ensayos, Camila Marambio

Independent writer/curator, John Kean

Discipline No. 5/ Más allá del fin No. 3 Publication Launch

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Discipline is pleased to announce a programme of
events in Melbourne to accompany the launch of its fifth
volume, a joint issue with the periodical Más allá del fin,
published by the feminist research collective Ensayos.
The joint issue—Discipline, Más allá del fin
(translating to ‘discipline beyond the end’)—represents
an effort to map a South–South relationship between
Chile and Australia, and even more specifically, between
its southernmost island tips: Tierra del Fuego and
Tasmania. For centuries, the Northern imagination
conceived of these places as the very personification
of distance itself, whereas the editors of Más allá del
fin refer to Tierra del Fuego as ‘the centre of the known
universe’. In addition to publishing a range of essays
on modern and contemporary art, this joint issue
recentres and forges new connections between Southern
perspectives, generating a dynamic and relational art
history of the contemporary.


Discipline, Más allá del fin is edited by Helen Hughes
and David Homewood (Discipline No. 5);
and Carla Macchiavello and Camila Marambio
(Más allá del fin No. 3).

The joint issue is designed
by Robert Milne and features contributions by:
Alexander Alberro, Nico Arze, Joaquín Bascopé,
Richard Bell, María Berríos, Susan Best,
Lucy Bleach, Clothilde Bullen, Rex Butler,
Rebecca Carland, Nicholas Croggon, Juan Dávila,
A.D.S. Donaldson, Juan Downey, Iris Duhn,
Tessa Dwyer, Hana Earles, Jane Eckett, George
Egerton-Warburton, Maggie Finch, Giuliana Furci,
Sarita Gálvez, Carlos Garrido, Christy Gast,
Macarena Gómez-Barris, Mary Graham, Aurelia
Guo, Lola Greeno, Wiebke Gronemeyer, Melinda
Hinkson, David Homewood, Helen Hughes,
John Kean, Tessa Laird, Ursula K. Le Guin,
Greg Lehman, Paris Lettau, Sarah Lloyd, Ramón
Lobato, Zoë De Luca, Carla Macchiavello, Camila
Marambio, Josefina de la Maza, Tara McDowell,
Andrew McNamara, Patricia Messier Loncuante,
Eric Michaels, Denise Milstein, Hema’ny Molina,
Kimberley Moulton, Stephen Muecke, Kevin
Murray, Astrida Neimanis, Anna Parlane, Francis
Plagne, Alison Pouliot, Jay Ruby, Carolina Saquel,
Quentin Sprague, Lisa Stefanoff, Ann Stephen,
Catalina Valdés, and Pip Wallis.

The majority of the work on Discipline is undertaken
on Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung land in Melbourne,
Australia. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri and
Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nations as original
custodians of these lands, and pay our respect to
Ancestors past, present, and emerging. Sovereignty
was never ceded.

Melbourne Launch Programme 20–22 August 2019

‘Spectral Film’ Artist Film Workshop

Tuesday, 20th August, 7:00pm 2 Kerr Street,
Fitzroy VIC 3065

‘Spectral Film’ presents a series of films by artist Carolina Saquel (including the web series DISTANCIA) and other mystery films, all of which are discussed in the joint issue. Screened by Artist Film Workshop, and introduced by Carla Macchiavello and Camila Marambio, editors of Más allá del fin No. 3.

Carla Macchiavello
On the Work of Juan Downey

Wednesday, 21st August, 1:00pm Monash Art, Design and Architecture Artforum
G104, Monash University, Caulfield campus

Carla Macchiavello will introduce the work of the late Chilean video artist Juan Downey, followed by a screening of his 1977 film,
The Abandoned Shabono (28 mins).

‘Lost in Translation’
A Panel Discussion with Camila Marambio, Rebecca Carland, and John Kean with Video Participation from the Yaghan Community on Navarino Island

Wednesday, 21st August, 6:00–7:30pm Melbourne Museum
11 Nicholson Street,
Carlton VIC 3053

Co-presented with the Melbourne Museum,
‘Lost in Translation’ brings several contributing authors to Más allá del fin No. 3. together
to discuss the awakening of a forgotten collection from South America by reconnecting to its source community, the Yaghan. This is a project led by Camila Marambio and the curator of history of collections at Museum Victoria, Rebecca Carland.

Paid event, tickets can be bought online at: https://museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/ whats-on/lost-in-translation/

Sarah Lloyd ‘My Life in Slime’

Thursday, 22 August, 4:00pm Mueller Hall, Melbourne Herbarium, Botanic Gardens,
Birdwood Avenue,
Melbourne VIC 3004

Acellular slime moulds (myxomycetes) are amoebae, single-celled organisms that produce exquisitely beautiful spore-bearing ‘fruits’ visible to the naked eye. Slime moulds are usually studied by mycologists in academia who may undertake a relatively brief visit to a site where they gather organic material to culture in the laboratory. This talk describes a unique study of these unpredictable, ephemeral, miniscule organisms by a passionate naturalist with daily access to her study site: a tall wet eucalypt forest in central north Tasmania.

Carla Macchiavello
‘ Ayayay! (From Eye to I to Ay!): Reflexive Translations
and Video Bodies in Downey’s Videos and Beyond’

Thursday, 22 August, 6:00pm Mueller Hall, Melbourne Herbarium

‘I wish to eroticise politics’, said Juan Downey
in one of his notebooks when working on one of
his best-known series of video works, Video Trans Americas (1973–79). Eroticism was here understood as a larger human project of survival, needing inter-species, human-machine collaborations. Feedback would meet eros, the thinking I/eye would meet the feeling body/ ay!, looping desire, longing, bodies, memories … Downey’s works have been analysed as part of larger North American networks that created feedback loops between art and anthro- pology (as both were working with audiovisual technologies and reflexivity), art and television/ agency of media, art and science. But the connections between politics and eroticism have been largely downplayed by scholars, as have been other networks of peripheral collaborations, translating desire across cultures and bodies, cannibalising received histories. From his early works with machines and perception to his late works in which the body beats to the sound of political dissent
and indigenous drums, translating and transferring languages and pulsations, another perhaps erotic map of video networks might be traced.

Discipline, Más allá del fin

Launch!

Thursday, 22 August, 7:30pm Mueller Hall, Melbourne Herbarium

Please join us for a drink to celebrate the launch of Discipline, Más allá del fin.

Biographies

Rebecca Carland is Senior Curator, History of Collections at Museums Victoria. She works across all disciplines at Museums Victoria to keep the collection relevant and dynamic. Her latest exhibitions include Make Believe, Melbourne Museum, 2018–19; and Inside Out, Melbourne Museum Touring Hall, 2017–18.

John Kean was Art Advisor at Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd (1977–79), inaugural Exhibition Coordinator at Tandanya: the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute (1989–92), Exhibition Coordinator at Fremantle Arts Centre (1993-96), and Producer with Museum Victoria (1996–2010). He is currently undertaking a Ph.D.
in Art History at the University of Melbourne. John has published extensively on Indigenous art and the representation of nature in Australian museums.

Sarah Lloyd is a Tasmanian naturalist, writer, and photographer who has had a lifelong passion for
natural history, especially birds. In 2010 Sarah started documenting the myxomycetes (acellular slime moulds) found in the tall wet eucalypt forest that surrounds her home at Birralee in central north Tasmania.

Carla Macchiavello is an art historian specialising
in Latin American contemporary art, performance, and video, who writes about the relations between art, politics, and performative practices. She is Assistant Professor in Art History at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY.

Camila Marambio is a curator, founder of the nomadic collective research program Ensayos, and co-director
of the web series DISTANCIA. She is co-author of the books Slow Down Fast, A Toda Raja with Cecilia Vicuña (Errant Bodies Press, 2019 ) and Sandcastles: Cancerous Bodies and their Necro/Powers with Nina Lykke (forthcoming 2020).

Carolina Saquel is a visual artist with a degree in Juridical and Social Sciences from Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile and a Master’s degree in Arts, majoring in Contemporary Art and New Media from Université Paris VIII, France. She graduated from
Le Fresnoy, Studio National des Arts Contemporains in France in 2005. Her work has been shown in film and video art festivals and exhibitions in Europe, Latin America, and Australia.

Discipline, Más allá del fin has been supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body and Monash Art, Design, and Architecture, Monash University. With thanks to Ensayos, Artist Film Workshop (AFW), and Melbourne Museum. www.discipline.net.au

Selk’nam Kwash: Hablemos de cosmosvisión

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Presentación audiovisual y conversatorio. Actividad pro-fondos Proyecto Karukinka: viaje a Tierra del Fuego de la comunidad indígena Selk’nam Covadonga Ona. Viernes 9 de Agosto a las 18:00hrs. Aula Magna UCSH. General Jofré 462. Santiago.

Discipline, Más allá del fin

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Full of tunnels and cavities that conjoin Chile and Australia, issue #3 of Más allá del fin is “the honeycomb issue.” (Camila Marambio, from the editorial)

To be launched in August 2019 the third issue of Más allá del fin will be published by the Melbourne based art journal Discipline.

Since the Más allá del Fin‘s last issue, published in 2015 by the Bruce High Quality Foundation in New York City, Ensayos has been affirmatively exploring reflexive anthropology, Indigenous knowledge, television, slime moulds, the wisdom of creeks, Gondwana, and the trans-nationality of forests. During this time the challenges of translation and of place-based pedagogy have become central to Ensayos research collectives which is why this third issue of the periodical Más allá del fin brings together new and old texts by authors from across the Pacific ocean to converse on these critical knots.

“can we look 

deeply

at ourselves

thinking ourselves

thinking looking knowing intuiting feeling being?

(can we invent such a word?

is it just reflexivity?

or something más allá?)” (Carla Macchiavello, from the editorial)

Texts and collaborations by: 

Nico Arze, Joaquín Bascopé, María Berrios, Lucy Bleach, Rebecca Carland, Juan Dávila, Juan Downey, Iris Duhn, Tessa Dwyer, Giuliana Furci, Sarita Gálvez, Carlos Garrido, Christy Gast, Macarena Gómez-Barris, Mary Graham, Lola Greeno, Melinda Hinkson, Helen Hughes, John Kean, Tessa Laird, Greg Lehman, Ursula K. Le Guin, Sarah Lloyd, Ramon Lobato, Carla Macchiavello, Camila Marambio, Josefina de la Maza, Patricia Messier, Eric Michaels, Hema’ny Molina, Stephen Muecke, Denise Milstein, Kevin Murray, Astrida Neimanis, Alison Pouliot, Jay Ruby, Carolina Saquel, Lisa Stefanoff, and Catalina Valdés.

Photo credit: ‘Cyttaria_gunnii’, Alison Pouliot, 2019. Cyttaria grow in association with the tree genus Nothofagus and are hence only found in the Southern Hemisphere, namely in Tierra del Fuego and Tasmania.



SINSENDA

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Saberes y aprendizajes en torno a la relación campo-ciudad

Domingo 23 de junio, 2019 – 11:00 – 14:00 h / Edificio Sabatini, Talleres, Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, España Entrada gratuita mediante inscripción previa mediante correo electrónico a mediacion@museoreinasofia.es

Esta cita cuenta con la presencia de Casa do Povo, KAA Rural Residency e Instituto Ivi Maravey (Brasil), Más Arte Más Acción (Colombia), Biquini Wax (México), Ensayos (Tierra del Fuego) e Inland-Campo Adentro (España), participantes del 1º Encuentro Internacional de Espacios de Arte Independientes Campo-Ciudad, organizado por Inland-Campo Adentro también durante el mes de junio, con apoyo de AC/E programa PICE. Durante esta jornada, est+s agentes y plataformas invitad+s pondrán en común sus proyectos y modos de hacer en sus diferentes contextos, favoreciendo la conversación, la escucha y el aprendizaje entre l+s presentes.

Este encuentro forma parte de la estrategia del Museo Reina Sofía para conectar prácticas educativas latinoamericanas con el tejido local y será activado por Aisel Wicab, coordinadora de la Red Iberoamericana de Pedagogías Empáticas.

Atracción Fatal

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Beta-Local, Puerto Rico

jueves 9 de mayo de 2019 – 6:30pm
c/Sol esquina Barbosa, VSJ
(junto a la Escuela Lincoln)

Aprovechamos la visita a Puerto Rico de la curadora chilena Camila Marambio para que nos hable acerca de su práctica y Ensayos, el programa que dirige en Tierra del Fuego.

A modo de autofenomenografía improvisaré un relato que da cuenta de mi experiencia de la curaduría como un sacrificio: un oficio sagrado que está al servicio de la práctica artística, entendida esta última como el camino a la alteridad. Entretejiendo relatos de eventos revelatorios sucedidos por medio de objetos de arte, exhibiciones y encuentros con maestros de la palabra, intentaré explicitar el pensamiento que me lleva a declarar que la curaduría es una vocación ancestral que mucho puede servirle a la lucha ecológica actual.

*Camila Marambio se define como investigadora privada, bailarina aficionada, permacultora , escritora esporádica, pero ante todo, curadora. Es Magister en Arte Moderno: Estudios Críticos de la Universidad de Columbia, NY; Master en Experimentos en Arte y Política de la Science Po, Paris, y actualmente cursa su Doctorado en Práctica Curatorial en la Universidad de Monash, Melbourne. Camila es fundadora y curadora de Ensayos, un colectivo de investigación extradisciplinar y ecofeminista que explora preguntas relacionadas a la ecología política de la Tierra del Fuego y otros archipiélagos. El 2006/2007 asistió al Programa Curatorial de Appel en Amsterdam y entre el 2009-2011 fue curadora del Área de Artes Visuales del Centro Cultural Matucana 100, Santiago, Chile. Ha sido curadora en residencia de la Fundación de Arte Kadist en París, del Watermill Center en Nueva York y de Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne.

https://ensayostierradelfuego.net/https://ladistancia.tv

Imagen:‘Phoenix’ de Christy Gast, 2015

Unpacking My Library

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Michael Taussig
Unpacking My Library

Monday, 25th February 2019, 6:30pm
The Institute of Postcolonial Studies
78–80 Curzon St, North Melbourne VIC 3051
Free to attend

Discipline, Ensayos, and MADA Monash University are pleased to present a public lecture by Michael Taussig, titled ‘Unpacking my Library’. The talk presents a Benjaminian take on and in the library in Paris where Walter Benjamin assembled most of the material in the 1930s that was later published as The Arcades Project. In exploring library subculture, it evokes elements usually ignored in Benjaminian exegeses, especially awakening and sleeping in relation to social revolution, along with the connections between the bodily unconscious and social life.

Michael Taussig is a professor of anthropology at Columbia University. In spite of his numerous publications in his field, especially in medical anthropology, Taussig is most acclaimed for his commentaries on Karl Marx and Walter Benjamin, especially in relation to the idea of commodity fetishism. He is the author of the following books: What Color is the Sacred? (2009); Walter Benjamin’s Grave (2006); My Cocaine Museum (2004); Law in a Lawless Land: Diary of a Limpieza in a Colombian Town (2003); Defacement (1999); Magic of the State (1997); Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses (1993); The Nervous System(1992); Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man: A Study in Terror and Healing (1987); and The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America (1980). He is also the author of numerous articles, including: “What Do Drawings Want?” (Culture, Theory and Critique: 2009); “The Corn Wolf: Writing Apotropaic Texts” (Critical Inquiry: 2008); “Zoology, Magic, and Surrealism in the War on Terror” (Critical Inquiry: 2008); “Redeeming Indigo” (Theory, Culture & Society: 2008); “Getting High with Walter Benjamin and William Burroughs” (Cabinet: 2008); “Zoology, Magic, and Surrealism” (Critical Inquiry: 2008); and many more.

‘Unpacking my Library’ by Michael Taussig is presented by DisciplineEnsayos, and MADA Monash University.

Discipline is a Melbourne-based publisher and contemporary art journal edited by Nicholas Croggon, David Homewood, and Helen Hughes. Discipline’s upcoming issue is guest edited by Carla Macchiavello and Camila Marambio.

Coastal Curriculum in Tierra del Fuego – Ensayo #4

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WHEN

December 9 – 20, 2018

WHAT

Accidentally, we ventured off track. We got lost, ended up elsewhere. And once there, we had no choice but to change history. So, we did. Quietly, collectively, weaving images of islands and flowers, rodents and blood, we told “Their Story”. Eventually, you’ll hear it, just like we did, murmuring in the wind.

A wise word of warning: Weed not, plastic is everywhere.

WHY

Because as the glaciers melt and our oceans become burdened with the residues of our bad habits, we feel the urgency of re-membering our fishy beginnings (Neimanis, 2017) and so embarked again on an expedition to rehearse a coastal curriculum. By scripting a curricula we aim low, towards the seabeds that lie under the beaches we love to walk along, swim at, and collect trash at. We recede into our shame and assume vulnerable positions letting the sea breeze become the skipper of our thoughts, feelings and actions.

WHO

Caitlin Franzmann (artist), Sarita Galvez (kinesiologist and educator), Vanessa Grimaldi (artist and educator), Camila Marambio (curator), Ivette Martinez (educator), Patricia Messier (artisan and educator), and Karolin Tampere (curator).

HOW

Thanks to OCA, Karukinka WCS Chile, MADA, Ana María Yaconi, Julio Gastón Contreras, Ivette Martínez, Kiko Anderson, Australia Council for the Arts, Museo Antropológico Martín Gusinde, UMAG, Nativo Expediciones

Premiere of DISTANCIA

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After fully booked out premieres in Santiago on November 24th at SALA K in Santiago and in Punta Arenas on December 10th at the Ernesto Livacic Auditorium, University of Magallanes, the following premier is in Valparaíso on the 18th of January at 12pm at the Universidad de Valparaíso, sala Rubén Darío (calle Errázuriz 1108, Valparaíso).

ALL ARE WELCOME to assist or simply watch DISTANCIA here:
www.ladistancia.tv or on youtube, facebook and instagram.

First Look: Distancia at Web Fest Berlin

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DISTANCIA is a story of environmental proportions, a series of tales that have demanded to be told from beyond the strait of Magellan. Speaking histories of unlawful appropriations, exterminations, and exploitations, each episode sketches the shape of a place known as Tierra Del Fuego. Documenting the drive for justice and kinship between a few unlikely characters, DISTANCIA chronicles a wind so relentless it shapes the mind. DISTANCIA reports on remote civilian entanglement with volatile geopolitical agendas. DISTANCIA murmurs a road under construction, and in doing so opens a poethical portal.

Berlin Webfest is the first international festival in Germany dedicated to presenting, recognizing and advancing digital short form series from around the world. The fourth edition of Webfest Berlin took place on September 7 & 8, 2018.

View DISTANCIA trailer:

 

 

Fansubbing Workshop

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In this masterclass and workshop, students will be introduced to in-production web series Distancia, hear about the origins and contemporary relevance of fan subtitling (fansubbing), learn about the specific constraints and conventions of subtitling, and be guided through hands-on fansubbing exercises using the open- source application Aegisub. By the end of the class, students will have prepared subtitles in a variety of languages for the first episode of Distancia. The workshop brings together experts from MADA, the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, and the School of Media, Film and Journalism. For more information on Distancia and to view the trailer: https://ensayostierradelfuego.net/field-notes/distancia-official-trailer/

PRESENTERS:
CAMILA MARAMBIO is founder and director of the nomadic research program Ensayos, which focuses on the political geography of Tierra del Fuego. She has an MA in Experiments in Arts and Politics from Science Po and an MA in Modern Art from Columbia. She is currently completing her PhD in Curatorial Practice at MADA.

TESSA DWYER is Lecturer in Film and Screen Studies, School of Media, Film
and Journalism, and author of Speaking in Subtitles (2017). She researches global screen flows and screen translation, specialising in fansubbing.

JASON JONES lectures in Japanese Studies in the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics. He is a researcher and active translator, subtitler, and editor for numerous large, online entertainment subscription services.

CAROLINE TROUSSEAU is a language teacher and professional NAATI and TRADOS accredited translator, and has subtitled numerous documentaries and TV series. She is currently completing her PhD in Translation Studies at Monash.

EVENT DETAILS
DATE
Tuesday 22 May, 2018
WORKSHOP & MASTERCLASS TIME
11am to 1.30pm

LOCATION
Menzies S324, Clayton campus

REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Free Event. RSVP by 18 May
CATERING PROVIDED ENQUIRIES
Tessa.Dwyer@monash.edu

FANSUBBING Wkshp flyer

Invention of the Image – Masterclass at Monash University

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Carolina Saquel will reflect on the construction of the image as a process of fabrication, composition, manipulation, and viewing, speaking about the procedures of the one who “makes” images by revealing her own process, including presenting her system of references, her frameworks, and her habits. Acknowledging the influences that compose ones system of references (experiences, books, museums, television, film and video, web) and how these create “new genres” Carolina will speak to how these are heightened by the technologies and formats that we choose, as each imposes its modes of production, dissemination, and participation. The talk will invite a rich exchange with students about their own references and how they “see”.

Presenter:
Carolina Saquel lives and works in Paris as a filmmaker, artist and former-lawyer. She is visiting Monash University through a MADA Faculty Artist in residency program to collaborate on the webseries Distancia. An exhibition by Carolina and sound artist, Ariel Bustamante, curated by MADA PhD student Camila Marambio, runs from April 17th to May 12th at the MADA Gallery.

EVENT DETAILS:

DATE:Tuesday, 17th April 2018
TIME: 4pm to 5pm
LOCATION :Room S901- Level 9 (Building S), Caulfield Campus
REGISTRATION REQUIRED/FREE EVENT Free event RSVP required due to limited numbers
ENQUIRIES: RSVP to Tessa Dwyer tessa.dwyer@monash.edu

Image Credit: Carolina Saquel, En Voz Alta, Solo Show at Galería AFA, Santiago, Chile, 2015.

Precarious Symmetry at MADA Gallery, Melbourne

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Precarious Symmetry
Ariel Bustamante and Carolina Saquel

Curated by Camila Marambio as part of the making of the webseries Distancia

Exhibition:
17 April – 12 May 2018
Opening:
Tuesday 17th April 2018, 6 – 8pm with Artist Talk @ 7pm

Precarious Symmetry is a face-off.
Precarious symmetry is what might emerge from a game of call and response between Ariel Bustamante’s Untitled sound composition (10 minutes, 6 channels, 6 active speakers, 2017-2018) and Carolina Saquel’s Untitled (Landscape) video (11:16 minutes, colour, silent, 2014-2016).

Precarious Symmetry is a set-up.
Precarious Symmetry is what could momentarily occur if in the tradition of the Baile Chino, the curator Camila Marambio’s prediction about the encounter of Ariel and Carolina’s distinct works was to come true.

The Baile Chino is a spiritual technology that knots together the sound of the universe and the image of reality. In the Baile Chino, a pre-Columbian ritualdance still practiced today along the Chilean Andes Mountains, the dancers respond to each other’s strident utes, exciting one another into a dialogue that lasts for hours, inducing a trance-like state aimed at sustaining the dissonant emissions. Dissonance is sought-after because it is through it that a rajadura (rip) occurs. This rip, or tear, is a cut, an opening towards other dimensions.

Ariel, Carolina, and Camila are dancers attempting to tear each-other-together- apart, to slip through the slit, into a fantastical new dimension they call Distancia.

* As an offering to Precarious Symmetry, the anthropologist Michael Taussig wrote the poem
“Borderlands of Being” on April 10, 2018.

Borderlands of Being

On the edge of nothing and everything where dust rises and settles and rises some more, where the earth dissolves in formless forms and the northern desert of ghost towns and copper mines breathes its lullabies as night falls, here we settle, here we dissolve. The minutiae of particulate matter, aural and optical, evades our long inherited schemes for understanding understanding. If it wasn’t for the littleness, if it wasn’t for the quiet and the slowness of a rhythm as old as the hills, gentle, gentle, more, more, again, again, learn to listen, once again, learn to see, once again.

What am I, after all?

Image Credit: Carolina Saquel, Charlotte (from the series Nivelar la distancia) 2011, Medium format colour photograph, lambda print, 100 x 81 cm.

** Thanks to Melanie Flynn, Tara McDowell, Tessa Dwyer, and Tom Nicholson for their support in the making of Distancia.

Distancia Trailer

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COMING SOON

Distancia
Tierra del Fuego 2018, Original Version in Spanish, subtitled in English, color, 7 episodes.

Trailer Credits:
Director: Carolina Saquel/ Assistant Director: Camila Marambio/ Camera: Philippe Eustachon, Patricio Riquelme, Carolina Saquel/ Sound Design: Ariel Bustamante/ Starring: Ivette Martinez, Julio Gastón Contreras, the wind, the road, and unsuspected others.

RIVER RAIL

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In the inaugural issue of the River Rail there are articles by four Ensayistas: Christy Gast and Bárbara Saavedra, Admiralty Sound Expedition Report by with an afterword by Dr. Bárbara Saavedra, Camila Marambio, The Go-Between, and Cecilia Vicuña Con Cón, Chile, 1966 – 2006.

___________

Note from the Publisher:

The River Rail is a bi-annual, free publication that focuses solely on the urgent subject of nature: its beauty, abuse, and changing climate that is gravely affecting every aspect of the planet’s ecosystem, and our lives. An offshoot of the Brooklyn Rail, the idea comes as a response to the Trump administration’s aggressive attack on human rights and equality, cultural knowledge, environmental protection, and scientific methodology based in research and fact.

Current research is showing that water is to our 21st century what oil was to the 20th century. The River Rail raises issues that many of us are not aware of, and proposes some actions. To illustrate, a thermocline is a layer of the ocean where the temperature changes more rapidly with depth, caused by the collision of warm and cold currents; woe be the day when our feelings about the Earth’s conditions remain lukewarm. Building upon a history dating back to over thirty millennia, when our Paleolithic ancestors painted images of bison, horses, and aurochs on irregular cave walls, to the late 1960s when “earth art” was built into site-specific natural environments, to our commitment today to ensure this labor of love and care for the fragility of ecological matters is firm and solid. This augury of ecological concerns and explorations is a new beginning of our collective work in the making.

In solidarity, as ever,
Phong Bui

Ensayos at the cité internationale des arts: Atelier 10 Sur

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Un événement inédit de la Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso qui
fait dialoguer arts, sciences et société pour imaginer demain.
Du vendredi 2 février au samedi 3 février 2018
2 jours et 1 nuit : 36h en continu
Entrée libre*
Accès aux personnes à mobilité réduite avec assistance.
* à l’exception de Discontrol Party, 22h-5h30, 10€. Billeterie : http://micadanses.com/billetterie/

«Nous ne sommes pas le nombre que nous croyons être» proposera une expérience inédite pendant 36h en continu avec la participation de centaines d’artistes, chercheurs et groupes de travail d’horizons géographiques et disciplinaires très variés. Ils investiront plusieurs espaces de la Cité internationale des arts à Paris, lieu de vie ouvert au dialogue entre les cultures, en invitant les visiteurs à réfléchir sur le présent et à esquisser ensemble des voies d’avenir. Le fil conducteur de ce foisonnant programme est l’univers romanesque de The Compass Rose (1982), un recueil de nouvelles de l’auteur américaine de science-fiction Ursula Le Guin.

300 participants internationaux : artistes, chercheurs, penseurs, porteurs de projets et des centaines d’étudiants de diverses formations artistiques et scientifiques donnent rendez- vous au grand public.

« Et avec eux, ou après eux, pourquoi un aventurier encore plus audacieux ne surgirait-il pas–le premier géolinguiste qui, ignorant les chants délicats et transitoires du lichen, lira derrière ces chants la poésie encore moins communicative, encore plus passive, totalement intemporelle, froide, volcanique des pierres: chacune d’entre elles étant un mot prononcé, il y a si longtemps, par la terre elle-même, dans l’immense solitude, dans la communauté encore plus immense, de l’espace »*
*Ursula K. Le Guin, L’auteur des graines d’acacia, in Les quatre vents du désir, Paris, éditions Pocket, 1988, p. 25

Deux jours et une nuit ouverts à tous les publics pour rencontrer des collectifs tant programmés qu’improvisés et découvrir une constellation d’expérimentations insolites. Le public pourra s’aventurer dans un parcours à travers des phénomènes invisibles, des récits capturés, des expériences hybrides, des interprétations sérieuses ou a abulées sous forme d’œuvres, de conférences, d’ateliers et de performances. Artistes, chercheurs, penseurs, porteurs de projets et étudiants de diverses formations artistiques et scientifiques se réuniront avec leurs savoirs et savoir-faire pour questionner et tester nos certitudes, tenter des hypothèses sur ce que nous croyons et ce que nous savons. Une immersion saisissante dans leurs univers de recherches pour comprendre le monde.

Specimisms

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–Carla Macchiavello for Future Souths
http://futuresouths.org/#/

What would a model of care among species, of communication between kinds, of collaboration across earthly beings, be like when it comes from an “extreme” location? Can the margin, the peripheral, even the antipodes, be rethought as an extremity-oriented centre? Perhaps this is not so hard to imagine: as I have increasingly found in Tierra del Fuego, the more one ‘excavates’ the particular history of this archipelago off the south of South America, the more interwoven it becomes with other places—the more it grows laterally.

Can the end of the world, the finis terra, provide something more than an inverted image of its (colonial) other and become a model of affinity (ad finis) among kinds? Can speculation coming from/at the end of the world move away from the emphasis placed on vision at the root of our species, and our speculative logocentrism, to a form of seeing-understanding that is thinking-feeling—that thinks-senses? Might interspecies communication be finding ways to arrive at a common sense (sensus from the Latin, sentire: to feel, to know, to find one’s way)—a common ground beyond the human? Could this process be understood as a decolonization of the senses? What if to know, as poet and artist Cecilia Vicuña has suggested, is to be with (“conocer, con o ser, ser con“)? Can one identify with one’s opponent, care for the “enemy”, even perhaps become it?

I would like to think of Ensayos, a “nomadic residency program” founded in 2010 that mostly takes place at Tierra del Fuego, less as a model or an inverted mirror than as a performative platform that resituates thinking about ‘the end of the world’ (whether that is the human(ist) world, life on earth as we humans know it, or a geographical end of the world at the south) as a sensorial/aesthetic engagement (thinking-feeling) with multispecies collaborators (co-labourers in Donna Haraway’s terms) seeking to imagine and put in action (“imaginación, imagen en acción“, according to Vicuña) different ways of being with and in the world. Ensayos is/is not a thing (a residency, an idea, a curatorial vision), and works as a temporal, shifting assemblage of practices that try out ways to create common grounds and listen to other beings (animate and inanimate) speak.

I tend to think of Ensayos in theatrical terms, as constant acts of staging, performing, representing, practicing, and learning—acts that also define scientific practices—from Tierra del Fuego herself, from her history, her strata, her present, her movements; from the localized and/or migrant practices of her colonizers and visitors; from a variety of fields that meet in her varied spaces (including biological sciences, social sciences, sheep businesses, tourism, and art among others); and from body to body. It sets up spaces for dialogues like a shelter (precarious, temporary, resistant)—yet these do not occur necessarily through words: this is where decolonizing the senses creeps in. Dialogue in Tierra del Fuego has historically been a matter of signs and their performance: from the smoke interpreted as fire that gave it its European name to the gestures of Fuegians towards incoming boats that were read as desperate begging; to the interpretation of body paint, costume, sound and song as the reenactment of a spirit world; to the movements of water, sky, and earth as confiding gestures speaking in the tongues of wind, wafts of odor, touch. Ensayos might thus be thought-felt as a practice of connecting corpo-realities, of learning to speak with/in another tongue and of communicating differently.

Image credit: “Admiralty Sound: Tierra del Fuego”, Rockwell Kent, Oil on Canvas, 1922-1925.

Caleta María, Tierra del Fuego, Chile – Ensayo #3

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WHEN

28/12/2017 – 5/1/2018

WHAT

Spending New Year’s Eve in Caleta María has become a sort of tradition for the researchers of Ensayo #3, however this New Year’s residency period was intentionally set to suit the production calendar of the web series Distancia.

Until weeks before we traveled to Caleta María, this particular residency period was conceived as the pre-production period (typically pre-production is understood as the process of fixing some of the elements that intervene in a film: script, places, objects, costumes, members of the cast, special effects, visual effects, etc. During pre-production the detailed agenda for the shoot is set and at some point there is a read-through of the script which is usually attended by all cast members with speaking parts, the director, all heads of departments, financiers, producers, and publicists) of the webseries. However, we did not get the grant (Fondart) we had applied for for this purpose and, very quickly, we had to re-organise our priorities.

Seeing as Distancia is a creative experiment, an ethnoficción, there were always elements of the “typical” pre-production period that we were going to leave aside so, shifting from pre-production to production was not an unfortunate exercise. Especially since the two illustrious mentors —Cecilia Vicuña and Michael Taussig— had decided to accompany us on this leg of the making of the webseries.

Ivette, who was very enthusiastic about Taussig and Vicuña’s visit suggested we invite the historian, Alberto Harambour, and the journalist, Javiera Carmona, as well. This new synergistic configuration opened up unforeseen possibilities and the residency which had been destined as a period for testing cameras, solving technical and conceptual elements of sound recording, and building rapport amongst the technical team and the cast (Ivette, Julio Gastón, amongst others) before returning to film the first season in April became the “oficial” film-shoot. So, in the spirit of Ensayos, one thing became something else which unexpectedly exceeded the pre-established objectives.

Here is a day by day description of the film-shoot (in Spanish):
Agenda

WHY

Distancia emerged from the quest to channel invisibilised Fueginan stories. As a creative experiment, an ethnoficción, it has been brewing for three years. Though Carolina Saquel (artist, former-lawyer and co-director of the web series) and Camila Marambio (curator and co-director of the web series) wrote experimental scripts, that more or less describe the actions that each episode will encompass, the underlying philosophy, which they share with Ivette Martinez and Julio Gastón Contreras (stars and research participants), is to activate reflexive processes that makes unique stories emerge. Stories that want to be seen.

Ivette insists that it is extremely pertinent that we be present, attentive, and documenting Caleta María at this moment in history. She claims there is significant “memory” work that is to be done in Tierra del Fuego.

WHO

Sebastian Arce (musician) / Ariel Bustamante (sound artist) / Javiera Carmona (journalist) / Julio Gastón Contreras (doctor) / Valentina Espinoza (dancer) / Alberto Harambour (historian) / Matias Illanes (cinematographer) / Camila Marambio (curator) / Ivette Martinez (educator) / Patricia Messier (artisan) / Carolina Saquel (artist) / Michael Taussig (anthropologist) / Cecilia Vicuña (artist)

HOW

Thanks to the confluence of various personal economies: artists, academics, and independent researchers all gifted their time, energy, services, and material resources.

Travel expenses were paid thanks to the generosity of Ana María Yaconi, who has for the past four years granted Ensayos a sum of money that has become its nominal operational budget .

Food and lodging were covered by our hosts Julio Gastón Contreras and Ivette Martinez.

The Wildlife Conservation Society Chile also hosted the group at their scientific station in Vicuña.

Image credits: Drawings by Michael Taussig, Caleta María, Tierra del Fuego, Chile, 2017/2018.

Hydrofeminist METitations

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A postscript on Hydro-Feminist METitations
presented as part of the Liquid Architecture program Negative Volumes: Body Languages
held at West Space, Melbourne
on October 14th, 2017

Welcome to Country by Uncle Bill Nicholson.
Uncle Bill started by acknowledging the local language, Woiwurrung, and greeting us all in language. He acknowledged his ancestors, especially his grandmother. He called our attention to the Yarra River, Birrarrung, spoke of the tradition of Welcome to Country, Wominjeka, and mentioned how aboriginal law asks us all to respect the land and its peoples.

Once welcomed, the sounds of a guitar and Sarita’s voice began to call people towards the next gallery. Lured by the sound of the strings everyone migrated to the long, rectangular, empty white-walled room where they found Sarita sitting on the window sill singing in Spanish, a song by Violeta Parra “De cuerpo entero.” This song is part of Violeta’s last compositions and could be translated as “Wholeheartedly” or “With the whole body.” It is a critique of Cartesian dualisms.

To Parra the body is not solid but “a river with beautiful waves.” This song of the fluidity of the living body set the tone for the next 25 minutes to come.

Camila takes over from Sarita’s singing and tells the story of Ensayos, its beginnings in Tierra del Fuego (Karukinka) and how Ensayos has grown into a feminist research collective scattered across the globe, tuning in, listening to different places, then coming together once a year to share their concerns. Asking: How do we deal collectively but differently with political and environmental situation(s) today? How do we grasp, handle, and take care of each one’s own emotions within this climate of change? Camila’s last questions were posed to Sarita: “How do we keep balanced if we should keep balanced at all?” As a response, Camila tells us that Sarita took her to the Melbourne State Library and there they began to study the inner ear, the organ of balance.

Camila asks everyone to follow her into a METitation (Mechanical Electrical Transduction) of the Vestibular System:

“In concert with finding our stability through our feet, muscles, and joints, and detecting our gravitational position through our eyes, it is deep within the ear, just under the brain, that lies the vestibular system: the system in charge of sending electrical currents to the brain’s movement control center, the cerebellum.

So, the inner ear is both where we find our hearing organ (the cochlea) and our balance organ (the vestibular system). Isn’t it amazing that these two organs float side by side?

Each vestibular system, yes, there is one of either side of our head, is made up of three semi-circular canals, and two pockets called the saccule and the utricle (otolith organs). Together these three canals and the otolith organs provide constant feedback to the cerebellum about head movement. CONSTANT, so right now all of these organs are acting in your inner ears.

The awe-inspiring complexity of the vestibular labyrinth involves each of the three canals having a different orientation to detect a variety of movements (anterior, lateral, and posterior). Movement of fluid inside the canals caused by the movement of fluids outside the canals stimulate or excite the tiny ciliated (hairy) cells inside the labyrinth and so, mechanically activate electrical impulses that are sent through the vestibular nerve to the cerebellum.

(Nodding and rotating)

The posterior canal responds to the angular acceleration that occurs when the head moves toward the shoulder.

And the lateral canal senses when the head moves side to side in a no motion.

The anterior canal responds to the movement of nodding. The head forward and down towards the chest.

Most notable to me is that this intricate balance and hearing system, known as the inner ear, is suspended in fluid. A fluid called the perilymph. Perilymph composition is similar to that of the cerebrospinal fluid and similar to many extracellular fluids in the body, interstitial liquids. But the vestibular labyrinth is not only floating but is also full of fluid, an electrical liquid substance known as the endolymph. The endolymph is a unique fluid, rich in potassium (K+ ) and positively charged. So when the perilymph is moved it moves the endolymph which penetrates the semi-permeable walls of the ciliated (hairy cells) within the labyrinth and charges them positively, because these cells rest in negativity at -50 microVolts. This transduction that I’m explaining is therefore electro-mechanical.

Have I been clear? Were you able to follow my descriptions? We’ll put all of this into action and call on our embodied wisdom to make its appearance, but I just want to point to the fact that it is the difference between a highly positive endolymph and inner negativity of cells that allows this potential of action, this excitement into electrical action.

WALK around the gallery. Rise and Fall. Take the elevator, climb the stairs, return to gallery. LIE DOWN. Lift and rest the head. Close the eyes shut.

Now we are going to explore the otolith organs, the utricle and saccule, which function slightly differently, their main relationship is to gravity and linear acceleration. They send messages to the brain about movement in a straight line (backward and forwards, upwards/downwards) and about where the head is in relation to gravity (tilting, leaning or lying down).

Within the utricle and the saccule, there are also ciliated (harry) cells and these are embedded in a gelatinous matrix, on top of which rest the otoconia, tiny crystals of calcium +, that are resting, until displaced with up/down or straight and backward movements. When mechanically moved they stimulate the hairs which transmit their electrical messages to the cerebellum. Otolith is Greek for ‘stones in the ears’.

The utricle is sensitive to change in horizontal movements (walking).

The saccule is sensitive to change in vertical movement as when going in a lift or lying down.

I am going to ask you to get up, but before you do I want you to consider that this awakening of the ciliated cells is the awakening of all the threads within our body, the nerves, through which a symphony of fluid electric currents run.

(POETICALLY READ)

The body is electrified by its relationship with the elements as part of a gravitational atmosphere.

Current waves in the perilymph awaken electric current waves in the endolymph.

Potassium is crossing boundaries, penetrating tissues, carrying a message to action.

It is difference that awakes the cells.

Endolymph will travel from the membranous labyrinth to the spiral cochlea, from the saccule to the utricle. The potassium is recycled in a complex economy within the membranous system.

From intracellular fluid back to extracellular fluid whose composition is that of intracellular fluid but it is outside.
This next movement of yours is an inside~outside dance.

A dance of repetition and recycling of fluids.

Pay special attention to the story that your vestibular system will tell you. It is one of electrical complexity, of depolarizing excitability within a gravitational atmosphere that moves us.

Your cilial cells are going to be moved, electrified by encounters-with light as you open your eyes, air and water currents as you rise and so I ask that you remember these encounters because we will repeat and observe them closer. Slowly, very slowly, rise, giving yourself endless time to rise in whichever way action leads.

NOW standing, follow my thinking.

How do we revitalize the relationship to electrifying elements when our culture deprives us of vital energies?

Our body is a crossroads, site of translations: mechanical, electrical transduction into potential action. As the vestibular system teaches us about our intimate connection with atmosphere, we are part of the world in its ongoing differentiation, I want to return to the question of: how do we keep our balance in this climate of change?

Maybe we don’t. Balance is continual electromechinal flux, so let’s drop the question and acknowledge that flesh is fluid and electric, that our rational/logical responses are precarious, that as bipeds our position is always insecure, unstable. Let’s instead get excited by the embodied knowledge that we have inherited from our fish and lizard ancestors, the organismic ability to feel our way through space as if we continued to be held by the water that we emerged from.

In this age of massive extinction (anthropocene, capitalocene, chthulucene), of over-pollution, overpopulation, and over indulgence let’s not worry about balance, but about how balance depends of fluids! On the ionic composition of fluids and its agency to electrify, vivify!”

The floor which had been covered with bodies laying down listening to the storytelling of Camila, was now attentively listening to her end her tale and when she did:

“My father never used an overall, abstract concept for nature; for him, nature was definite and material; it was fish, weather, currents, and birds. I never heard him talk about nature.”

Aaron, Camille and Isaiah (Victoria College of Arts Secondary High School students) read out loud from the book The Wild Living Marine Resources Belong to Society as a Whole.

“Perhaps there are some microorganisms that contain the riddle of life, something that appears as a miracle to us”

Whilst reading, the three performers began to guide the public through one space, and into another, a slow spiral like passage. Arriving at «the inner ear» where Astrida Neimanis waited, the three helpers stood with their backs towards each other reading out the last excerpt:

“We are actually a species of animal, and then we pollute; is this pollution that we produce a part of our animal species?”

Astrida´s text Thinking With Water continued on topics related to water, our liquid bodies, the flow of currents through lactating bodies, tap water, mammals and human reproduction. Ending with:

“Not only does water connect us, gestate us, sustain us—more than this, water disturbs the very categories that ground the domains of social, political, philosophical, and environmental thought, and those of feminist theory and practice as well. Thinking about our selves and our broader communities as watery can thus unmoor us in productive (albeit sometimes risky) ways. We are set adrift in the space-time between our certainties, between the various outcrops we cling to for security. It is here, in the borderzones of what is comfortable, of what is perhaps even livable, that we can open to alterity—to other bodies, other ways of being and acting in the world—in the simultaneous recognition that this alterity also flows through us.” (Hydrofeminism, Or, On Becoming a Body of Water, p 111)

Aaron, Camille and Isaiah slowly slithered over the public and back into the big open gallery space were it had all begun. Accompanied by Karolin´s sounds of crackling ice and waves, squeaking sounds of ancient air leaving its glacial ice core container, leaving the state of memory medium, the audience laid once again on the floor. As the room filled up with bodies on the floor, engine drones faded into heavy synthesised drones and our 30-minute performance choreography closed with Water Kondor, spoken word performance by Cecilia Vicuña played back from her vinyl Kuntur Ko. As a greeting to her and a greeting from the Andes reminding us of the connectedness that our bodies and oceans are manifested in liquid spaces both inside and outside our bodies.

Distancia

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Just released: This week’s teaser for Distancia, a TV/web series in production by Ensayo #3 collaborators.

DISTANCIA
Tierra del Fuego 2018, Original Version in Spanish, subtitled in English, color, 6 episodes.

Director: Carolina Saquel/ Assistant Director: Camila Marambio/ Camera: Philippe Eustachon, Patricio Riquelme, Carolina Saquel/ Sound Design & Original Music: Ariel Bustamante/ Sound Engineer: Sebastian Arce/ Art Direction: Maria Luisa Murillo/ Starring: Ivette Martinez, Julio Gastón Contreras, Cecilia Vicuña, Michael Taussig, the wind, the road, and unsuspected others.

Beyond the strait of Magellan, in a territory that is often imagined as untouched and remote, unfolds a story of cosmopolitical entanglement between two Chilean human rights activists, an American tycoon, a Nation State, a conservation biologist, a road under construction, a family of penguins, and the relentless wind. Of environmental proportions, this complex tale reveals a colonial culture of appropriation and extermination and the extraordinary civilians who fight for justice and kinship at the “road’s end”. In an allegorical style known as ethnofiction, La Distancia documents and stages fragments of the lives of the characters, some of which are more-than-human.

Distancia

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Just released: This week’s teaser for Distancia, a TV/web series in production by Ensayo #3 collaborators.

DISTANCIA (Distance)
Tierra del Fuego 2018, Original Version in Spanish, subtitled in English, color, 6 episodes.

Director: Carolina Saquel/ Assistant Director: Camila Marambio/ Camera: Philippe Eustachon, Patricio Riquelme, Carolina Saquel/ Sound Design & Original Music: Ariel Bustamante/ Sound Engineer: Sebastian Arce/ Art Direction: Maria Luisa Murillo/ Starring: Ivette Martinez, Julio Gastón Contreras, Cecilia Vicuña, Michael Taussig, the wind, the road, and unsuspected others.

Beyond the strait of Magellan, in a territory that is often imagined as untouched and remote, unfolds a story of cosmopolitical entanglement between two Chilean human rights activists, an American tycoon, a Nation State, a conservation biologist, a road under construction, a family of penguins, and the relentless wind. Of environmental proportions, this complex tale reveals a colonial culture of appropriation and extermination and the extraordinary civilians who fight for justice and kinship at the “road’s end”. In an allegorical style known as ethnofiction, La Distancia documents and stages fragments of the lives of the characters, some of which are more-than-human.

Running Conversations Hosted by Liquid Architecture

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Running Conversations with Camila Marambio and Astrida Neimanis
Late at the Lab: Thursday 5 October

Join Underbelly Arts and Liquid Architecture for an evening of coastal listening, sloppy digressions and tidal thinking. This Lab will offer ideas and discussion led by curator Camila Marambio and writer Astrida Neimanis, with the goal of opening participants’ ears to a set of subjects: water, crystals, tissues, shells and things that live in them. Let your ideas rise with the tide during this experimental process of shore-listening, where water and earth are two moments of a p a s s a g e.

About
Liquid Architecture is an Australian organisation for artists working with sound. LA investigates the sounds themselves, but also the ideas communicated about, and the meaning of, sound and listening.

Event Details
Thursday 5 October – 6pm-9pm
National Art School – Hoff Gallery, enter through Forbes Street

6-7pm: Meet at the Hoff Gallery and take tour of Underbelly Arts works in progress
7-9pm: Meet at the Hoff Gallery for Late at the Lab, hosted by Liquid Architecture

Entry FREE with an Underbelly Arts Festival ticket, or $10 on the door pending availability.


Negative Volumes: Body Languages

The voice is coming from the body, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is unified with the body. There are so many ways the one can betray the other.

Camila Marambio, Astrida Neimanis, Karolin Tampere and Sarita Gálvez present hydro-feminist meditations on listening to your body as a body of water. Presented as part of Liquid Architecture’s Negative Volumes: Body Languages.

SAT 14 Oct 2017
4PM – 7PM
West Space, Melbourne
1/225 Bourke St
Wheelchair Accessible

FREE

Distancia

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Just released: A teaser from Distancia, a web series in production by Ensayo #3 collaborators.

Admiralty Sound (Seno Almirantazgo) Designated First Marine Protected Area in Tierra del Fuego

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SANTIAGO, CHILE (September 13, 2017) – Chilean President Michelle Bachelet committed on September 11th to create a new marine protected area in Admiralty Sound in Tierra del Fuego. The new “Multiple Use Marine and Coastal Protected Area Seno Almirantazgo” will safeguard rich marine wildlife and the area’s rich cultural heritage, while protecting artisanal fisheries and promoting sustainable tourism.

The Sound, along with two other Marine Parks –Francisco Coloane and Cape Horn- will become the core of a network of MPAs for the Magallanes Region.

Admiralty Sound is a spectacular, 80-km long fjord adjacent to Karukinka Natural Park, a large protected area owned and managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The newly declared protected area contains leopard seals, elephant seals, black-browed albatross, Magellanic penguins and other wildlife.

The announcement was made during the 4th International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC4) hosted by Chile. President Bachelet announced plans to protect 46 percent of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Chile.

Said President Bachelet: “We are becoming the country with the largest marine area protected in the world – a developing country that can be a leader in conservation. This is not a triumph of the government, it is a triumph of reason.”

Said the Minister of the Environment, Dr. Marcelo Mena: “Chile is a beacon of hope for conservation within the world. This represents an historical achievement for protection.”

Chile Country Director Bárbara Saavedra said: “This announcement of the first MPA in Tierra del Fuego will become a model for effective management of coastal conservation.”

Seno Almirantazgo was first proposed as a protected area by WCS Chile to the Ministry of the Environment in June 2017. This followed a decade of collaborative research, education and conservation work integrating multiple stakeholders in its design. The protected area has the support of the Governor of the Magallanes Region, the regional representative of the Ministry of Environment, the local governor of Tierra del Fuego, communal authorities of Timaukel and Porvenir, local fishing unions, and Karukinka neighbors.

Said Alejandra Figueroa, Head of the Natural Resources and Biodiversity Division at Ministry of the Environment: “The conservation of the Admiralty Sound is a collaborative workspace where WCS is leading an integrated marine and land strategy that will allow us to work together with fishermen, tour operators and other actors, based on adequate and sustainable management.”

The area is in need of protection. Two introduced mammals threaten the biodiversity of the fjord: the beaver, which builds dams in the rivers and streams of Tierra del Fuego, destroying forests and altering watercourses that reach the sea; and mink, which feeds on seabird eggs and chicks, with a high impact on the albatross colony of the Albatross Islet, the only known colony that nests and feeds in inland waters. In addition, the Sound, acting like a funnel of sea and wind, receives tons of marine debris including plastic bags, ropes, nets, and bottles, where it negatively impacts both marine life and tourism. At the same time, unregulated tourism can be a serious disturbance to natural life, causing abandonment of nests and migration of colonies to more protected sites, with serious consequences in their conservation.

By protecting Seno Almirantazgo, the Chilean Government is officially launching the Magallanes Network of Marine Protected Areas, first announced in 2015, which is expected to expand across the Patagonia region. The MPA network will enable Chile to meet its target of protecting 10 percent of relevant ecosystems by 2020, a goal in keeping with the Aichi Targets. While Chile’s marine protected areas already span 13 percent the ocean under national jurisdiction, some ecosystems are under-represented. For example, the Channels and Fjords Ecoregion of Southern Chile – the most pristine of the country – has less than 1 percent of its seas protected. The Network of Marine Protected Areas for Patagonia is a collaborative effort leaded by the Government of Chile and involving the work of various organizations including WWF, Fundación Huinay, Fundación Meri, Centro Ballena Azul, National Geographic’s Pristine Seas Program, and WCS Chile.

With a strong presence in Chile for more than a decade, WCS develops Tierra del Fuego’s largest private conservation project in Karukinka Park, and has built collaborative relationships with government, private sector and local communities. Since 2009, WCS Chile has been working on the coast of Patagonia using science as the basis for the management and sustainable use of biodiversity and its ecosystem services, based on an integrative vision for marine conservation in the Southern Cone of South America.

These efforts have been generously supported by the Waitt Foundation, which has also supported the establishment of the WCS MPA Fund to assist countries worldwide in creating new marine protected areas in fulfillment of the United Nations goal to protect 10 percent of the oceans by 2020.

Book Launch: The Wild Living Marine Resources Belong to Society as a Whole

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The title for this book, edited by Randi Nygård & Karolin Tampere, as part of Ensayo #4, is taken from Section 2 of the Norwegian Marine Resources Act where it states that the wild living marine resources belong to Norwegian society as a whole. Taking it to the next level, Nygård and Tampere dropped the Norwegian and curated an exhibition at Kurant in Tromsø in March 2016, titled ‘The Wild Living Marine Resources Belong to Society as a Whole’. As a post-script, almost two years later, Nygård and Tampere will launch the book, that through a thoughtful collection of essays, articles, images, artworks and poems further reflects on how our laws and management plans reveal our fundamental views on the ocean.

First launch is scheduled to take place in Melbourne on SAT 14 Oct 2017 at 4:15PM at West Space, 1/225 Bourke St, as part of Negative Volumes: Body Languages. All are welcome!

Eco / Decolonial Arts: Open-ended Poetic / Philosophical Forays

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As the current ecological crises and different forms of oppression, discrimination and injustice around the globe demonstrate, the questions of the environment and the people, as well as of social and environmental justice, are not isolated from one another. These concerns and connections come to the fore in both implicit and explicit ways in the work of artists, activists and academics working with the issues of ecology, on the one hand, and decolonisation, on the other.
The two-day workshop “Eco/Decolonial Arts: Open-ended Poetic/Philosophical Forays” aims to develop transversal dialogues between various ways of engagement with both ecocritical/ecological and decolonial perspectives.

The slash [“/”] in the name of the workshop (“Eco/Decolonial”) refers to feminist scholar Karen Barad’s (2014) concept of “cutting together apart” that points to the necessary entanglement of: nature and culture; the environment and the human; epistemic, symbolic and physical violence towards nonhumans and humans alike; and finally, the call for environmental and social justice.
We invite contributions in diverse experimental – and not necessarily academic – formats (length: approx. 30 min.). In this way, we hope to open up a space for postconventional, transdisciplinary modes of knowledge production and mobilise different forms of sensing and thinking with each other.

28-29 June 2017
Tema Genus
Linköping University
Sweden

Speakers:
Amanda Selinder (independent artist, SE)
Madina Tlostanova (LiU, SE)
Camila Marambio (ENSAYOS, Tierra del Fuego)
Nina Lykke (LiU, SE)
Dalida Maria Benfield (VCFA/Harvard University, USA)
Marietta Radomska (LiU, SE)
Anne Gough (KTH, SE)
Vera Weetzel (LiU, SE)
Cecilia Åsberg (LiU, SE)

The workshop is organised by: Intersectionality Research Project, The Eco- and Bioart Research Network, and GEXcel International Collegium for Advanced Transdisciplinary Gender Studies.

Programme
Venue: Room Faros (Plan 3), Tema building, Campus Valla, Linköping

28th June
13:00 – 13:15 Introduction
13:15 – 15:30 Panel 1:
Dalida Maria Benfield, La cosera/the seamstress: (re)suturing audio/video/text through radiofonización and traducción in migratory times
Amanda Selinder, Exploration of a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast as a material and concept: Ongoing artistic research
Cecilia Åsberg, A thousand tiny anthropocenes: Ecological humanities, through feminist and environed bodies, as a forms of participatory posthumanities
15:30 – 15:45 Fika
15:45 – 18:00 Panel 2:
Camila Marambio, Going Further Between
Vera Weetzel, Watery Connections
Marietta Radomska, Living and Dying in the Anthropocene: Thinking with Lichens
19:00 Dinner downtown

29th June
9:15 – 11:00 Panel 3:
Katja Aglert, TBA
Anne Gough, Whose Paths? Traversing landscape stories in Lebanon and the United States
11:00 – 11:15 Fika
11:15 – 13:00 Panel 4:
Madina Tlostanova, A Bird without Feet in a Vanished Forest Garden
Nina Lykke, Moving beyond the imperceptible?

Abstracts and bios

AMANDA SELINDER
Exploration of a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast as a material and concept: Ongoing artistic research

Abstract
With a starting point in natural dyeing, Amanda examines various types of fermentation processes, cultures of microorganisms and the manner in which her body affects and participates, over time. What drives her work forward is a fascination and curiosity how we all, non-human and human bodies are intertwined and living in symbiosis with each other. How do we communicate with the non-human bodies that are playing such an important roll for our existence? In her artistic research Amanda is working between performance, sculptures, sound and video trying to visualize what we are a part of but can’t see or hear. During the workshop Amanda will talk about her research with a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, both visually and conceptually.

Bio
Amanda Selinder (b. 1990 in småland) is a visual artist currently based in Stockholm, Sweden. She has a bachelor in fiber and fine arts from the Academy of craft and design in Gothenburg and School of visual arts in New York. Amanda is between the 1st of April and 1st of October 2017 one of the grant holders at The Swedish arts Grants committee’s International program for visual and applied artists. She has exhibited both in Sweden and internationally (e.g. SVA Gramarcy Gallery & SVA Chelsea Gallery in New York, Largo das artes Gallery in Rio de Janeiro, Officinet in Copenhagen). Amanda also has classes/workshops in experimental natural dyeing.

ANNE GOUGH
Whose Paths? Traversing landscape stories in Lebanon and the United States

Abstract
“The history of photography has been intimately connected with Europe’s knowledge about the Middle East since the invention of the medium in 1839.” – Ali Behdad
Photographs are never neutral. Photographs and post cards made from images of the Levant in 1900s, however, have been treated as objective documents of memory (Wehbe 2015). Behdad and others argue, in separate cases, that such photos are charged with subjectivity and often with the objective of a colonial project. These representations became a way to collect, sort and categorize people and landscapes of the “Orient”.
This exploration will explore the ways “landscapes are power materialized” (Mitchell, 2016) through a previously unpublished photo collection of the path of the Adonis Valley, Lebanon (circa early 20th century). A work-in-progress research, I am curious about how nature-cultures are made and reproduced? Who is permitted and who is prohibited? What is erased and what is revealed? I will begin with framing the way Lebanon has been researched, known and categorized. I then offer an approach to eco/decolonial dialectics through visual culture.

Bio
Anne Gough is a PhD Candidate with the Environmental Humanities Laboratory at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm Sweden. She collaborates under the theme Xenophobic Natures. Anne is currently completing fieldwork in Lebanon where she has been affiliated with the Department of Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management at the American University of Beirut.

CAMILA MARAMBIO
Going Further Between

Abstract
Lying beyond the straight of Magellan and stretching towards Antarctica, the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego has been deemed a windy outpost of the earth. Though remote, the site’s geo-history is fraught with venture capitalism schemes, forced migrations, extreme tourism, and extraordinary environmental remediation plans, with none of these interventions paying any responsible measure of tribute to the resilience of its original inhabitants. Ecological change at the hands of humans is strikingly evident in Tierra del Fuego, so too human transformation at the mercy of geography. This mirroring between the human and the ecological inspired the foundation of Ensayos, a program of experimental inquiries into the ecopolitics of Tierra del Fuego, and drives the quest to create an ecofeminist webseries that portrays the deeply intertwined, cosmopolitan nature of this remote place.
As the founder and curator of Ensayos I ask: What curatorial process can assure the making of a televisual portrayal of Tierra del Fuego that sustains the distinctive and environmentally-minded social space which prompts viewers to question the ethics of living and dying in times of climate change? I explore the methodologies of experimental ethnography as a way to nourish a multi-realist approach to the ecological issues of Tierra del Fuego and use fictocritical techniques to enact a dialogical practice of ecological address that serves as basis for the filmic exercise.

Bio
Camila Marambio is the founder and director of Ensayos, a nomadic interdisciplinary research program that considers Tierra del Fuego the center of the world (https://ensayostierradelfuego.net/). She received an M.A. in Modern Art: Critical Studies from Columbia University and a Master of Experiments in Art and Politics from Science Po in Paris; attended the Curatorial Programme at de Appel Arts Center in Amsterdam; and has been curator-in-residence at the Kadist Art Foundation in Paris and Gertrude Contemporary in Australia. She was Chief curator of Matucana 100 in Santiago from 2008-2010, previously Assistant Curator at Exit Art in New York City, and currently resides in Melbourne, Australia where she is a PhD Candidate in Curatorial Practice.

CECILIA ÅSBERG
A thousand tiny anthropocenes: Ecological humanities, through feminist and environed bodies, as a forms of participatory posthumanities

Abstract
Concerns with the planetary, for instance the anthropogenic impact on our climate, biosphere and geological layers of the earth has developed as various forms of environmental research, ie ecological or environmental humanities. Since the foundational works of Carson, Merchant, Plumwood and Haraway feminist agendas on toxic bodily incursions, more-than-human ethics and co-existence have been part of forging these fields. In recent times, this type of scholarship have also increasingly welcomed longstanding indigenous scholarship on relationships with nature and more postconventional creative practices and collaborations. In my talk, I will present vignettes of current creativity and ongoing research in these fields and muse on the need to explore previous and emerging feminist approaches in the research areas of environmental or ecological humanities. To meet up with the affected more-than-human constituencies, forging what I call a thousand tiny anthropocenes, we need more-than-human humanities and feminist postnatural concepts as thinking technologies. As it is becoming more and more apparent to us how we are part of nature and nature part of us, we need to encompass, I argue, more-than-human and postnatural sensitivities and various participatory approaches for developing a thousand tiny forms of feminist posthumanities too.

Bio
Cecilia Åsberg is Professor of Gender, nature, culture at Tema Genus, Linköping University, working in the feminist intersections of experimental humanities across the arts and sciences, in medical, digital and environmental humanities. She is Pi and Founding Program Director The Seed Box – An Environmental Humanities Collaboratory; Founding Director The Posthumanities Hub, and Co-Director GEXcel International Collegium for Advanced Transdisciplinary Gender Studies.

DALIDA MARIA BENFIELD
La cosera/the seamstress: (re)suturing audio/video/text through radiofonización and traducción in migratory times

Abstract
In “Llamando el mago” the artists collective Diasporas Críticas (Barcelona, Spain, and Guayaquíl, Ecuador) enunciate, and share recordings of, multiple voices, times and spaces. In this re/de-suturing of information, they suggest not so much a cartography, or a story, but a series of sonic events held in conversation, a symphonic composition. These sound events, and the identities of the speakers and singers, engage us in an historical inquiry into their conditions of production. These conditions of production, as they emerge through the sounds themselves, situate us. Also situating us is Damali Abrams, who, in her reading performances, sews together excerpts. These are excerpts of texts that she feels need to be read aloud – to be heard. Their silence is broken by their radiofonización, to use Diasporas Críticas’ term. Further, the silencing of texts, in the work of Clara Balaguer, is interrupted by their collaborative translation, a practice of giving life in collaborative readings. These works and practices, along with others, constitute the project Migratory Times/Tiempos Migratorios. A translocal series of events, exhibitions, and pedagogical interventions that center the work of artists in relation to understanding the conditions of migration and displacement in multiple global sites. In this talk, these projects will be shared as emergent practices of decolonial feminist knowledge sharing in migratory times.

Bio
Dalida María Benfield, Ph.D., is a decolonial feminist artist and researcher focused on (re)activating new, old, and liminal forms of collective research and knowledge sharing. Her projects cross the boundaries of disciplines, cultural contexts, and communication channels, providing opportunities for diverse publics to ask questions in museums, galleries, schools, community organizations, public libraries, and online. Her current projects include “Migratory Times,” a year-long network of researchers and artists and series of events discussing global migration; “The Museum of Random Memory,” which invites participants to consider the ethics of big data collection as they contribute a random memory; and “24 HOUR SOCIAL STUDIES,” an open access platform for civic education. She is Co-Chair of the Visual Arts Program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, U.S.A.; Visiting Professor in the futuremaking.space at Aarhus University, Denmark; and former Faculty Associate and Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, and Professor and Chair of Art Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is also the founder of collective impossible, llc, an independent research organization, cultural center, and publisher. She holds a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley in Comparative Ethnic Studies with Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

KATJA AGLERT
sgulS
– turning over and over the grounds of Slugs and.

Abstract
The video based work Momentary Seizures that I developed in 2007, triggered a process evolving a series of works re-turning over and over to some of the inquiries, concerns and matters involved – becoming with slugs. The most recent is an artistic experiment in drawing together with slugs, published as a full spread in the local paper ’Jämtlandsbladet’ this week. My presentation will discuss the current and possible futures of this project and process, and how they explore possibilities of opening new modes of thinking, performing and materializing.

Bio
Katja Aglert’s artistic practice and research is transdisciplinary in nature and includes both individual and collaborative projects. She exhibited widely in Sweden and internationally including solo exhibitions at Biologiska Museet, Stockholm (2016); FLORA ars+natura, Bogota, Colombia (2015/2016) Museum for Contemporary Art, Santiago, Chile (2015/2016); Marabouparken, Stockholm (2014). As artist she teaches and lectures regularly at institutions such as Stockholm University, Konstfack, and Valand Academy. For more info: katjaaglert.com

MADINA TLOSTANOVA
A Bird without Feet in a Vanished Forest Garden

Abstract
Many insights of various Western/Northern eco-critical and new materialist movements so fashionable these days, for many centuries have been an integral part of the indigenous and colonized (and therefore excluded from the modern/colonial knowledge production) people’s cosmologies and ethics. As a decolonial subject, I am not particularly thrilled with the agenda of the modern/colonial lagging behind scholarship and art production, which have finally “discovered”/appropriated the critical take on the human/world/nature complex, basically after the points of defuturing have been already passed. Yet it is crucial for me to attempt to work with decolonial aesthesis, radical return, correlationism, the ancestral communal body and embodied memories, toward a re-existence. All of these intuitions, anxieties and ideas are much better expressed through art than through any unavoidably logocentric scholarly discourse. Therefore contrary to what I usually have to do to remain a scholar, this time I will abstract from the academic analysis and try to speculate on why I write fiction and how deficiencies of scholarly discourses beget artistic decolonial metaphors.

Bio
Madina Tlostanova is a decolonial thinker and writer. She is professor of postcolonial feminism at the Department of Thematic Studies (Gender studies) at LiU. Tlostanova focuses on decolonial thought/postcolonial theory, postsocialist studies, non-Western feminisms, contemporary art and fiction. She was a DAAD visiting professor at the University of Bremen (Germany, 2006, 2011), an international researcher at Duke University (USA, 2007), a visiting scholar at Linköping University (2013) and Södertorn University (Sweden, 2014). Tlostanova has authored nine scholarly books and over 260 articles, including Gender Epistemologies and Eurasian Borderlands (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), Learning to Unlearn: Decolonial Reflection from Eurasia and the Americas (co-authored with Walter Mignolo, Ohio State University Press, 2012) and the most recent Postcolonialism and Postsocialism in Fiction and Art: Resistance and Re-existence (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). She has also authored two novels: In Your World I Am a Stranger (Moscow, URSS, 2006) and Zalumma Agra (Moscow, Sputnik +, 2011).

MARIETTA RADOMSKA
Living and Dying in the Anthropocene: Thinking with Lichens

Abstract
Lichens are holobionts consisting of fungi and algae or cyanobacteria (and possibly other microorganisms), living in a symbiotic relationship. They are resilient “pioneer organisms” that are among the first species to grow in previously uninhabited areas, able to survive in extreme temperatures and harsh environments. In the Nordic context, they are crucial players in the biodiversity of especially boreal and arctic region, where they significantly contribute to biomass and are a primary source of food for reindeer. Simultaneously, lichens are sensitive to air pollution and climate changes, which render them critical in the study of human-induced changes in ecosystems. In this paper (forming part of the very early stages of a transdisciplinary project focused on ecologies of death in the context of contemporary environmental crises), I take lichens as both a figuration and a case study. By thinking with lichens inhabiting the Nordic region, I will try to explore the ethico-ontological questions of living and dying in the Anthropocene.

Bio
Marietta Radomska is a Postdoc at Tema Genus, Linköping University, working within the Gender, Nature, Culture research strand and The Posthumanities Hub. She is a holder of The Swedish Research Council International Postdoc Grant and her current research focuses on ecologies of death in the context of contemporary art. Radomska is the founder of The Eco- and Bioart Research Network, a founding member of Queer Death Studies Network and co-coordinator of Queer Death Studies GEXcel International Collegium research strand. She is the author of Uncontainable Life: A Biophilosophy of Bioart (2016).

NINA LYKKE
Moving beyond the imperceptible?

Abstract
In Deleuzian philosophy, death is theorized as a becoming-imperceptible. In my poetic and autophenomenographic reflections on death, dying and mourning, following my long-term partner’s death from cancer some years ago, I have been in dialogue with Deleuzian frameworks as well as with neovitalist feminist materialist philosophies (Braidotti 2006, Bennett 2010). The above title is inspired by these dialogues, and this will also be my point of departure in the presentation. However, prompted by desires to move beyond the imperceptible, I have also taken other paths, one relating to indigenous cosmologies, another to queer ecologies,This is very much work-in-progress. However, I would like to share some poetic texts and thoughts on this with you and hope to be pushed further by the discussions in the workshop.

Bio
Nina Lykke, Professor Em, Gender Studies, Linköping University, Sweden, is co-director of GEXcel International Collegium for Advanced Transdisciplinary Gender Studies as well as scientific leader of the Swedish-International Research School, InterGender. She has published extensively within the areas of feminist theory, intersectionality studies, feminist cultural studies, and feminist technoscience studies, including Between Monsters, Goddesses and Cyborgs (1996, with Rosi Braidotti), Cosmodolphins (2000, with Mette Bryld), Bits of Life (2008, with Anneke Smelik), Feminist Studies (2010), and Writing Academic Texts Differently (2014), and Assisted Reproduction Across Borders (2016, with Merete Lie). Her current research is a queerfeminist, autophenomenographic, and poetic exploration of cancer cultures, death, dying and mourning, cf. her recent essay: “Queer Widowhood”. Lambda Nordica. 2015: 4: 85-111.

VERA WEETZEL
Watery Connections

Abstract
I will discuss my PhD project, Watery Connections. Care-fully knowing with fish and tears, in which I aim to explore the watery embodiments of fish and tears, and to use these as a starting point for an alternative knowledge production practice that starts from care and connection rather than distance and separation. I explore bioart as a strategy for doing biology research differently, as it allows me to ask open-ended questions, use creative methods and unconventional ways of relating to the research. In this way, I want to work towards research practices that work with rather than on what or whom the research is about.

Bio
Vera Weetzel is a PhD Candidate at Tema Genus, in the area of Gender, Nature, Culture. With a background in biology, their interests include gender, embodiment, science and technology and practices of knowledge production. Their current project is tentatively titled Watery Connections. Care-fully knowing with fish and tears.

Recordar SSSS

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En español recordar viene del latín, cordis, y significa volver a pasar por el corazón.

Algunas semanas después de nuestro taller SSSS en el Victoria College of the Arts Secondary School Camila y yo nos juntamos a rememorar. A volver juntas a pasar por la experiencia, ¿qué resultó? ¿qué no? ¿cómo nos sentimos? El espacio de la enseñanza/aprendizaje compartida que nos otorga el haber co-facilitado en tiempo y espacio nos permitía reunirnos a ver ¿qué pasó? Es un regalo que nos hacemos a nosotras, a nuestras prácticas, y a nuestros sueños de llevar el currículum costero por el mundo!

Dos sesiones de trabajo entre risas y tés en Brunswick dan vida a este documento que sirve de complemento/contraste a las sesiones originalmente planeadas compartidas anteriormente.

Sesión #1: La introducción

Queríamos usar el video de Christy Gast, pero nos faltó preparación técnica y no pudimos ponerlo. Usamos el plan B: Una foto de ‘Aonde va la lancha’
*Tiempo y organización para la próxima, es importante probar la tecnología*

La sala que nos designaron era oscura y como era el último bloque de clases del día estaba sucia. ¿Cómo se puede recibir amorosamente a un grupo en un espacio sucio? Esto nos trae al espacio, a lo que hace el lugar dónde nos encontramos: la luz, las mesas, las sillas, la alfombra, y la luz nuevamente. Recordamos nuestras tenidas para el día, ambas con vestido y entusiasmo. Es como prepararse para una ceremonia, un primer encuentro, una celebración.
*La próxima vez poner atención en el lugar dónde nos encontramos*

El círculo nos acompañó en cada sesión. Comenzamos con un círculo de sillas.

Llegan los estudiantes: despliegue de estilos, colores, olores, movimientos, hormonas, pelos, energías! Nos contagiamos. Hay onda en el lugar, los estudiantes se muestran y también no. Nosotras nos mostramos y también no.

El presentarse: yo soy Sean invité a Camila. Yo soy Camila invité a Sarita. Yo soy Sarita e invité a un ser imaginario. Nos reímos. Con Camila hemos conversado sobre lo bello de presentarse desde el lugar dónde tomamos nuestra primera inhalación, ese espacio geográfico dónde sucede aquella primera entrada de aire: la vida de la mamífera terrestre por venir. Los pulmones se abren por primera vez luego de vivir por meses en medio acuoso. Es importante para el currículum recordar esos momentos de lo acuático a lo terrestre, eso sólo lo pienso ahora que escribo. Pensamos que sería largo, pero resultó que los estudiantes fueron muy concisos: Sunshine, Mercy, Royal Women’s, Richmond, North Melbourne.

Habíamos preparado la realización de un mapa simultáneo en el cual yo iba a estar dibujando el mundo y las aguas, pero nunca pensamos que la mayoría había nacido en Melbourne y entonces el mapa debería haber sido muy local y especifico. Había algo también en mí, de querer tomar ese rol de ‘asistente’ de Camila, un poquito como fundirme con la alfombra. Interesante cómo aún en contextos de educación siento la presión de ‘saber’ de tener ‘respuestas’ como si siempre ‘me fueran a pillar’. Estar en instituciones de educación trae consigo esa carga de la propia historia de aprender, las estrategias y también las inseguridades que se tejen en esa trama que siempre está anudada al contexto religioso, político y económico de dónde una aprendió.
*nuestras historias de cómo aprendimos importan*

El mapa no funcionó, los estudiantes iban muy rápido. La respiración nos trajo de vuelta. Improvisamos el juego con la propia respiración: el aire dentro y fuera, e hicimos una vuelta en que cada uno compartió una respiración. Rápidamente al compartir la respiración uno compartía un pedacito de quehacer cotidiano: respiraciones largas, respiraciones breves casi sin sonido, respiraciones que se transforman en gemido, respiraciones de juego con el cuerpo entero, respiraciones. Luego de dos vueltas hicimos una respiración todos juntos a la misma vez. La intimidad de compartir el espacio, y el aire.

Camila hizo una introducción al proyecto Ensayos, a su práctica curatorial y nuestro currículum costero. Para dar paso a la segunda parte. Nos sentamos en el suelo para empezar el ‘momento curatorial’ donde Camila presentó el trabajo de Bas Jan Ader, Tacita Dean and Cecilia Vicuña. We finished with Kon Kon, the room was dark and the sounds of the film resonated in the walls.

(escribo en español, y a veces me sale inglés)

Al finalizar les contamos que la próxima sesión sería en la costa (alegría general), y la pequeña tarea sería investigar a los artistas y seguir la hebra de alguna historia que les gustara para compartir la semana siguiente.

Para terminar hicimos el ejercicio de sentarnos en un círculo todos juntos. Muchas risas, y también aparecen los cuerpos, las vergüenzas de que alguien sienta nuestro peso, o ser muy pesados para otro. O tocarnos, simplemente tocarnos con las piernas, con los cuerpos.

Terminamos contentas, con entusiasmo.

Sesión #2: La costa

Es el día de la costa y durante la semana el ‘tiempo’ indica que tendremos lluvia. Pensamos en suspender, pero en Melbourne la lluvia es frecuente. Seguimos de acuerdo al plan, pero nos conseguimos con Sean una ‘tarp’ en caso que llueva para armar una carpa.

Partimos en la sala del VCA y leemos juntos las primeras páginas de ‘The carry bag theory’ de Ursula Le Guin. Encontré esa historia unos días antes de la clase, por la idea de tejer una carry bag en la ida a la costa para coleccionar objetos o ¿dejar ser coleccionados por objetos? Presenté 3 carry bags que tejí en casa en menos de 10 minutos, pensando en anudaciones sencillas que dieran origen a objetos funcionales, pero también poéticos. Una carry bag era tejida a crochet, la otra hecha a nudos y la tercera era una experimentación de red. La que era red estaba pensada era una carry bag poética para colectar vientos.

*qué difícil es anticipar los tiempos*

Luego de introducir la idea de las carry bags presentamos una serie de hilos, cordeles y pitas para que cada una pudiera armar su carry bag durante el viaje, además mientras tejían irían conversando sus historias investigadas de los artistas de la semana pasada.

No estamos seguras que el ejercicio en el tram funcionó y las carry bags necesitaban por lo menos una sesión entera para poder ir desde el vellón a la bolsa tejida. Nos emociona pensar esta sesión textil, y no estamos seguras si la conversación del tranvía fue en la dirección de las artes. Nos preguntamos ¿cómo hacerlo para que funcione? Pensamos en la posibilidades del transporte público como espacio de performance, y quizás como posible lugar de exhibición del trabajo final.
*imaginar las posibilidades del espacio público*

En la costa yo comienzo dirigiendo el ejercicio de Deep Listening basada en libro de Pauline Oliveros. No funcionó. Había viento, había mucho ruido. El viento se llevaba mi voz. No lo practiqué antes: para los ejercicios somáticos es importante practicar las guías.
*siempre practicar ejercicios antes*

Quizás podemos tener un cuadernos de ‘movimientos costeros’ algo así como una pauta de ejercicios de respiración, movimiento, y elongación para entrar ‘en onda’ quizás ¿una coreografía costera?
*pensar en los ejercicios/danza/coreografía costera*

Luego nos cuestionamos no dejarnos ser guiadas por prácticas ancestrales situadas de escucha profunda como Dadirri de Miriam Rose Ungunmerr (Ngangikurungkurr woman) y nuestra tendencia a ofrecer referentes anglo.

Luego pensamos que no consideramos tanto la historia de ese espacio ‘Puerto de Melbourne’ dónde nos encontramos y lo importante que es para situar nuestras inquietudes.

Luego hicimos un breve circulo: el tiempo falta siempre! Y con una breve introducción sobre research los invitamos desde la escucha a conectarse con algún proceso que les llamara la atención, llevar consigo lápiz, papel y carry bag. Aquí nos cuestionamos haber tenido claridad en las prácticas de investigación: quizás para una próxima sesión vamos a intentar con bohemian research, y luego ver qué pasa. Y volver e intentar art of attentiveness y luego al final u otra sesión llegar al call and response.
*Nos entregamos a una conversación filosófica sobre estas prácticas: ¿qué nos dicen, a qué nos llaman, cómo respondemos a ellas? ¿Hay progresión? ¿cómo se cultivan? ¿podemos elegir sólo una? ¿cuál?*

Se van en su búsqueda y nos quedamos con la sensación de no saber cómo van aplicando las herramientas de investigación. Después de un rato aparecen los flautones chinos y empezamos a tocar en call and response.
*flautones de pvc o caña para todas la próxima vez!*

Los estudiantes empiezan a llegar al llamado de las flautas y los invitamos a unirse con voz y movimiento, comienza una sesión de canto y baile no planeada. Algunos responden otros miran desde lejos. ¿Cómo hacer para que todos se sientan invitados?
Aparece el movimiento, y nos sorprendemos de su libertad para dejarse ser movidos y mover.

Hacemos un circulo y comenzamos a contar nuestras historias colectadas ‘the sea helps us sea, my skirt is wet, the sand is grainy, the whales are listening, there is a pink lid on the sand…’ lo repetimos varias veces, y Sean graba al medio del círculo. Hacemos un juego de memoria. Resulta bien, hay risas.

*la importancia del gozo, la risa y el humor en el currículum costero*

Cerramos el día en la costa con el ejercicio de sentarnos juntos. Con Camila nos quedamos un rato más en la playa. Hay viento, y hace frío, pero no llovió. Estamos contentas.

Sesión #3: Re-search: La canción, el video y el baile.

La sesión anterior no alcanzamos a hacer el restorative rest (Mabel Todd, Alexander Tecnique). Hoy estamos todos un poco cansados y comenzamos con un descanso. Nos cuestionamos si es buena idea para partir, quizás siempre debiéramos empezar las sesiones con ejercicios más focales, de energía Qi.

Lo lindo fue poner el audio de la sesión anterior con todos en el suelo, y la luz azul de la pantalla creaba un ambiente acuático inesperadamente hermoso. Escuchamos las historias del círculo y luego trabajamos con las frases en el papel largo pegado en la pared. Es interesante esto de escribir juntos. Funciona bien, pero nos llama la atención como estamos tan self-absorbed, ¿cómo oscilar hacia otra escala que nos contenga de otras formas? ¿cómo descentrarnos para entendernos como parte de un mundo siempre en relación con otros? Lo hacemos de nuevo, invitándolos a pasar del I al We: para invitar a pensar cuando se habla más que desde uno.

Al comenzar el trabajo de grupos: música, baile, video, reporteros pensamos que es importante crear una ‘guía de trabajo’ que contenga una serie de ejercicios para que los grupos puedan trabajar auto-gestionados y no dependa de los facilitadores.
*guía de trabajo*

Nos damos cuenta que este proceso requiere TIEMPO y que los facilitadores tengamos tiempo para reuniones breves, quizás también pensar en invitar a otros artistas a acompañarnos en esta parte del proceso.
*nos interesa trabajar con otros y explorar qué hacer cuando hay resistencia, o desgano*

Y también pensamos en las tareas urgentes, qué es eso que se busca. Es interesante jugar con la idea de las ambiciones universales, de proponerse misiones imposibles. El cultivar la agilidad, y la libertad de movimiento.

Entre sesión 3 y 4 nos llegó el primer video: emoción!

Sesión #4: Final

Comenzamos con un ejercicio de Qi Qong no previsto, pero efectivo para energizar los cuerpos. Hacemos un circulo para compartir el proceso vivido. Todos comentan sobre lo lindo que ha sido trabajar juntos y conocerse a través de la colaboración ya que muchos de ellos no conocían de las prácticas artísticas de sus compañeros. La mayoría son muy experimentales y les gusta trabajar sin guión ni pautas. Conversamos de las tensiones y fricciones de los procesos colaborativos. Los reporteros presentan un Instagram que crearon ‘Bloody Malcom’ para el proyecto, una web misteriosa que tiene un circulo de piedras como primera entrada. Ese círculo fue elegido por la constante presencia del circulo en nuestras sesiones. Sean comenta sobre su práctica pedagógica, el tiempo de edición y la entrega.

Vemos el video final. Y cerramos la sesión, todos nos damos las gracias.

Distancia

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Coming soon…

DISTANCIA (Distance)

Tierra del Fuego 2018, Original Version in Spanish, subtitled in English, color, 6 episodes.

Director: Carolina Saquel/ Assistant Director: Camila Marambio/ Camera: Philippe Eustachon, Patricio Riquelme, Carolina Saquel/ Sound Design: Ariel Bustamante/ Sound Engineer: Sebastian Arce/ Art Direction: Maria Luisa Murillo/ Starring: Ivette Martinez, Julio Gastón Contreras, the wind, the road, and unsuspecting others.

Beyond the Strait of Magellan, in a territory that is often imagined as untouched and remote, unfolds a story of cosmopolitical entanglement between two Chilean human rights activists, an American tycoon, a Nation-State, a conservation biologist, a road under construction, a family of penguins, Selk’nam ceremonies, and the relentless wind. Of environmental proportions, this complex tale reveals a colonial culture of appropriation and extermination and the extraordinary civilians who fight for justice and kinship at the “road’s end.” In an allegorical style known as ethnofiction, Distancia documents and stages fragments of the lives of the characters, some of which are more-than-human.

SSSS: Silences, Secrets, and Sea Songs

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SSSS is a playful first attempt at co-creating a coastal curriculum for Melbourne, a first throw of a skipping stone along the surface of Phillip Bay, that took place during the month of March 2017 thanks to the artist Sean Peoples who offered Camila Marambio and Sarita Gálvez a chance to develop a workshop for a group of year eleven Visual Arts students from Victoria College of the Arts Secondary School.

We have decided to share here the curriculum as we devised it. In a following post (only in Spanish) we share our very honest reflections about what worked, what was too ambitious and what we would try again. We’ve done this as an invitation for you to consider the description below and our post-teaching reflections a template of sorts. A template that is already becoming undone for us through the exercise of carefully remembering what we learned, what we enjoyed, and what was missing, so as to go at it again but, that is nevertheless, swelling with possibilities.

SSSS:Silences, Secrets, and Sea Songs

Plan for a First Session:
Wednesday, March 8th, 2017. 1.5 hours
VCASS Classroom

A video (‘Onde va la Lancha’ by Christy Gast) will be playing as students come into the classroom.  This video is online so we will need a computer with internet connection that is hooked up to the projector.  Chairs get set up in a circle.

I will briefly introduce the video and through it myself as a curator and the director of Ensayos. Then I will lead a consciousness raising round (sitting on chairs), asking that each student briefly introduce themselves and say where they took their first breath.

While this is going on, Sarita will be making a map that visualises all the territories being named by the students. Once the round is done we will look at this map and call attention to the waters, the oceans, seas, rivers and fluids that encircle, surround, and criss-cross the territories. Introducing ideas of sounding the territory, deep listening, more-than-human agency, the voice of the non-human and the grain of the voice.

This will lead to a repetition of the consciousness raising exercise but now non-sensically. Without making meaning, naming, or claiming, just voice and movement of breath. This will be lead by Sarita. No chairs.

Sitting on the floor now, I will briefly present the work of three artists: Bas Jan Ader, Pierre Huyghe, and end with Cecilia Vicuña.  I’ll be at the computer flipping through images of ‘In Search of the Miraculous’, ‘The Journey that Wasn’t’ and ‘Kon Kon’.

I will end by giving homework (“study one of these artists’s practice more in depth and come prepared to talk about your findings”) and mentioning somethings in prep for next week’s excursion (bring towels, bathers, etc.)

Materials that will be needed for this session are: large piece of paper for map drawing, pastels, projector, computer, internet.

Plan for Second Session:
Thursday, March 16th, 2017. 3 hours.
VCASS and Port Melbourne

1. We will start in the classroom. I’ll speak for about 10 minutes. Recapping on artistic research and introducing or clarifying the terms: Embodied research, situatedness, fieldwork and attunement. Seated in a circle.

2. We will do a very short exercise on the Anthropocene (do all students have their phones with them? they will need them to do quick google search) and then speak in a round.  5 minutes.

3. Sarita will introduce the ‘Weaving a Carry Bag’ idea using Ursula Le Guin and referring to Cecilia Vicuña. Students pick and choose their materials. Sarita will follow up this email with a request for specific materials. 10 minutes.

4. I’ll give some instruction for our ride to the coast. Weaving, pairing up to give reports of homework, and silence in between. 5 minutes.

So after about a half hour we head to tram.

5. Tram: weaving, whispering in pairs (change pairs at 10 minutes) 30 minutes ride.

6. When we arrive to the coast. Sarita leads a Deep Listening exercise (mentions artist Pauline Oliveros) 10 minutes.

7. Speak of “Bohemian Research” methodologies (mention artist Stephen Dillemuth), the art of attentiveness (Goethe) and ancient call and response methodologies (all gestures as responsive). Students are given 45 minutes to go off to practice their bohemian research. They will take their carry bags, their note books, their towels).

8. We will call them back with flutes and possibly have little flutes for them all. We will play with call and response for some 10 minutes.

Share a small snack? in a circle?

9. We will sit in a round and begin a storytelling exercise that I will introduce: remembering, recollecting, collective storytelling. This will be recorded (sound and writing). Is there a sound recorder at the school? This gets repeated about three times. 1 hour.

10. We end with a restorative rest exercise (mention Mabel Todd “The Thinking Body”). 15 minutes on towels. Led by Sarita.

12. I’ll close with homework assignment and we will once again try “sitting together.”

Plan for Third Session:
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017. 1.5 hours
VCASS Classroom

We begin with tables and chairs out of the way.
1. Camila continues to introduce Ensayos and puts coastal research into perspective. RE-SEARCH. We will look again at what we felt, saw, collected, perceived when in the field.
2.  Sarita leads “restorative” exercise”, everyone is on the floor and in the dark.
3. We play audio recording of collective storytelling from last session, still in the dark.
4. Sarita and Camila ask each one to mentally work on their story-line phrase with prompts about de-centering the bounded individual and an introduction of the idea of secrets, we know we are part of something much larger. Have the sentence talk with or to the object or carry bag. (i.e. Plastic attracts plastic).
5. After a few minutes everyone writes their sentence on a large piece of paper taped to the wall.
6. We break off into groups (2 or 3 per group):
-Scribes o reporters (Mapping the course. The observer of the observer. Preparing Blog post).
-Song writers. Looking at lyrics and organizing phrases.
-Videographers.
-Art directors.
-Performers:
singers,
dancers,
musicians
-Post-Production.
-Speak of our roles (teachers) as directors, care takers and roadies.

By the end of this session a first draft of the song must have been recorded! “Sean, can you secure a room for recording?” Sean will be working with post-production team on getting this ready, while Sarita works with Singers, Musicians and Song Writers. I will be working with Art Direction, Dancers, Scribes and Videographers.

Plan for Fourth Session:
Wednesday, March 29th, 2017. 1.5 hours
VCASS Classroom

1. Students present video (version they did last week or some new version that gets worked on in the morning?) Video lasts six minutes.
2. We do two rounds of speaking. First answering question: What did you do? Second: What do you think/feel now upon seeing it as a whole? 10 minutes max.
3. Show Signal webpage and briefly mention the possibility of them applying to get a grant to finish the video and do one more critical round with ideas of how to flesh out video in new directions.
4. We return to the concept of the Anthropocene, and describe how this collective work is part of many similar efforts to create more livable futures. We show them Christy Gast’s work with students in NYC and show video Ilha das Flores.
5. Reporters present their work in progress: This should be a document that can be projected from a computer and include texts, images, sketches, etc. in blog post format. 5 minutes. We ask others to fill in the gaps and add to the document, live editing in preparation for this blog post to be added to Ensayos website.
6. Sarita and I address their report by fleshing out concepts, artists and other moments that were mentioned: embodied research/ situatedness/attunement and all the artist’s referenced.
7. Finish with “sitting together”.

Coastal Curriculum

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Part of a slow process of weaving experiences, ideas and dreams in Narrm Melbourne this is an offering from Sarita Gálvez and Camila Marambio to the rest of the Coastal Curriculum pods (New York, Norway, Tierra del Fuego). First conceived of as a manifesto, today this essay signposts a moment on a journey towards creating a costal curriculum.

The Trouble with Tourism

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Kiko Anderson of Caleta Maria, at the terminus of the Pan-American Highway in Tierra del Fuego, asks us to consider this essay by Steven Hollenhorst et al. on appropriately-scaled tourism in remote and ecologically sensitive places:

Finally, Steven Hollenhorst, the Dean of Huxley College, and two others, have put down in words an important concept I’ve been struggling with for years over the paradox of developing “eco”tourism in a place as remote as Tierra del Fuego. Kudos, Steven. A challenge for all who’ve contemplated such, but now more graspable. The upshot is not so hard: appeal to more local tourists; i.e. Argentines, Chileans, Uruguayans and Brazilians, etc. Especially those arriving by bike! And get them to want to stay a good long time once they get there, to fully absorb and understand that unique, remote, uttermost part of the earth. Make that available to others living further away digitally, or just enjoyed by those lucky enough to live near. Devise a way to account for each arrival’s carbon footprint, and the higher it is, the longer they stay to amortize it down to a sustainable daily budget. Tall order. Uneven playing field. Let’s hold the line though, by making the experience extreme enough to make it memorable. Live enough like the Selk’nam to make it memorable and repeatable by others. I renew my commitment to pioneer the way by making camping a la Selk’nam comfortable enough that ConcSurs might actually do it for a good long while. You all may have ideas of how to help in that effort.  –Kiko Anderson

(Photo by Carolina Saquel)

https://ensayostierradelfuego.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/The-Trouble-with-Tourism.pdf

Tierra del Fuego, Chile – Ensayo #3

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WHEN

November 19th – December 2nd, 2016

WHAT

To revisit people and places from last year’s research period, which was the video artist Carolina Saquel’s first on the island, to draw out certain conversations and scenarios which were slowly becoming central to the question of how to televisualise the human geography of Tierra del Fuego. This time we were not accompanied by the sociologist Denise Milstein and her son Julian and instead of going directly to Caleta Maria with Ivette Martinez and Julio Gastón Contreras, we would be spending some days in the north of Isla Grande digging deeper into some of the frays of Ivette and Julio Gaston’s story. Ivette and Julio Gastón lived in Cerro Sombrero as a young married couple during Julio Gastón’s post as the town doctor. Julio Gastón also grew up in Cerro Sombrero while his own father had been stationed there working as a chemical engineer for ENAP (Empresa Nacional del Petroleo). We were also invited to join a group of international journalists hosted by WCS Karukinka to visit a unique stromatolite geopark near Porvenir and to talk to them about our work during the following day, when they too would visit Caleta María.

Our trip began in Punta Arenas were we paid a visit to the Museum Marggiorino Borgatello. This lead to an unexpected encounter with Patricia Messier, Kaweskar artisan who almost instantly became a new research participant. She guided us through the museum and the next day we met her at her house were she continued to tell us her story and we met her mother. The following year she would travel with us to Porvenir.

In Punta Arenas we were joined by the sound artist Nicolás Spencer and after all the preparations for the trip to Tierra del Fuego were ready, we loaded our rental vehicle and drove along the Straight of Magellan to the narrowest crossing point to catch the ferry that would get us to Isla Grande. We hadn’t expected to find a long line of Argentinian trucks, headed to Ushuaia, also waiting to cross the Straight. The traffic delayed our arrival to Tierra del Fuego for hours and it wasn’t until after midnight that we drove in to Cerro Sombrero, the small township run by ENAP. Luckily, Juan Carlos Vergara, the Director of ENAP was still awake, aware of our set back, and despite our tardiness jovially showed us to the rooms that the archeologist Alfredo Prieto (UMAG) had arranged for us to sleep in. Our pretext was to record the wind and Juan Carlos asked that we present ourselves in the morning at his office so we could be given safety instructions and to further explain ourselves. This affair ended up being very pleasant and comical. We were basically given full access and drop offed at the top of the hill (Cerro) where the antennas and powerlines meet and where wind is the strongest. There we recorded for days.

After this, we drove to Porvenir (capital of Chilean TdF) to meet up with Alfredo Prieto and visit the cordillera Santa Marta
20 a alguna hora prudente emprendamos viaje a la TDF, cruzando el estrecho por Punta Delgada para llegar a Cerro Sombrero en la noche. Alojar allí el 20, el 21 explorar la zona, alojar nuevamente allí y la mañana siguiente, 22, dirigirnos a Porvenir. En Porvenir nos juntamos con Alfredo Prieto, arqueólogo, paseamos, y luego atenderemos a una charla que el dará allí. Alojamos y el día siguiente tu estarías a cargo de regresar el auto arrendado a Punta Arenas. La barcaza sale a las 14hrs y demora 2 horas. Podemos arreglar para que esté lo devuelvas al aeropuerto o a la ciudad dependiendo de tu salida. Yo y Carolina Saquel seguiremos hacía el sur con otro grupo.

http://www.cnnchile.com/noticia/2017/01/20/conoce-la-ultima-ciudad-del-mundo

WHY

Because some stories want to be told.

WHO

Julio Gastón Contreras (doctor) / Camila Marambio (curator) / Ivette Martinez (educator) Alfredo Prieto (archeologist) / Carolina Saquel (artist) / Nicolás Spencer (sound artist)

HOW

Thanks to all our local research partners: Andrés Fernandez, WCS Chile, Ivette Martinez, Julio Gastón Contreras, Julio Contreras Martinez, and Alfredo Prieto, who house us, feed us, drive us around, lend us their tools, teachi\ us about the region and its history, share their personal stories, and get involved in our joint research drifts.

FLUX

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FLUX

Cecilia Vicuña (Chile), Camila Marambio (Chile), Rob Thorne (NZ), Dylan Martorell, Jacqui Shelton, Richie Cyngler, Brendan Walls, Matt Warren, Pip Stafford, Ragtime Frank, Omahara, lighting installation by Jason James.

A project by Liquid Architecture and the Unconscious Collective.

Ensayistas Cecilia Vicuña and Camila Marambio have been invited to reclaim an old limestone quarry in the heart of Queenstown, together with other artists, musicians and poets, transforming it into a meeting place, cultural crucible, and experimental singing bowl.

Opening times:
10:00am–10:00pm (Saturday)
10:00am–2:00pm (Sunday)
Performance times:
10:00am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm (Saturday)
10:00am (Sunday)

Location
Flux Quarry

Why Listen to Animals?

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Why Listen To Animals?

The possibilities of meaning when we listen to animals and they listen to us.

THU 29 Sep – SAT 22 Oct 2016
7PM-10PM
West Space
Level 1/225 Bourke St, Melbourne
Wheelchair Accessible

FREE

This experimental project by Liquid Architecture reframes English writer and artist John Berger’s classic 1980 essay ‘Why Look at Animals?’ through the prism of sound and listening. We gather together artists, musicians, scientists and historians to investigate human-animal sound via the dynamics of power, knowledge and value in the pursuit of a new question: ‘Why Listen to Animals?’

artists
Bunna Lawrie, Cecilia Vicuña, Camila Marambio, Bryan Phillips, Kim Satchell, Anthony Magen, Melissa Deerson with Georgina Criddle, Rob Thorne, Eric Avery, Tamsen Hopkinson, Julia McFarlane, Max Kohane, Will Foster and Sabrina D’Angelo, Undine Sellbach, Tessa Laird, Lynn Mowson and Bruce Mowson, Catherine Clover and Peter Knight, Sally Ann Mcintyre, RMIT sound students.

schedule
THU 29 Sep 2016
7pm-10pm FREE
Presented by Liquid Architecture and the Australian Indigenous Studies Program, the University of Melbourne, as part of ‘Roze a Wail’: Whales, Whaling and Dreaming

Special storytelling and music from Bunna Lawrie, a traditional lawman and medicine man and direct descendant of the Mirning Aboriginal Whaledreaming tribe.
Spontaneous speech and noise acts from Chilean poet, artist, visionaries Cecilia Vicuña and Camila Marambio (Chile) and sound-maker Bryan Phillips.
A talk with Kim Satchell, New South Wales surfer, poet, performer, writer, on encountering whales in the context of the coast and the Anthropocence, with accompaniment from acoustic ecologist and sound walker Anthony Magen.
Melissa Deerson with Georgina Criddle stage ‘Alexander a play for a and b’

FRI 7 October 2016
7pm-10pm FREE
Rob Thorne (NZ)
Eric Avery (Sydney)
Cecilia Vicuña (Chile) and Camila Marambio (Chile)
Tamsen Hopkinson and Julia McFarlane and Max Kohane
Will Foster and Sabrina D’Angelo

LE CHERCHEUR ET SES DOUBLES

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The Director of the Kadist Art Foundation in Paris, Emilie Villez, took part in a seminar about artistic research organized by Sandra Delacourt, Katia Schneller, and Vanessa Theodoroupoulou. Villez spoke about her involvement in the exhibition “Beyond the End” at Kadist in 2014. The transcription of her responses to questions about Ensayos and “Beyond the End” were published by B42. B42 publishes books about graphic design, typography, pop culture and contemporary art, artist and designer writings; books that question our visual environment. The book can be bought here: http://editions-b42.com/books/chercheur-et-ses-doubles/ . It is only in French.