There will come soft rains

Will There Come Soft Rains?
with Carolina Caycedo

1. What does the idea of a non-human world mean to you? Do you see it as an inspiring artistic proposition or as a real possibility for the near future?

It's a world where we understand that processes of representation and of production of knowledge are not exclusively human. A non/human world is a pluriverse where many worlds are possible, instead of a Universe where everything is determined by the white male colonizer human experience.  In many places of Latin America the post human evidences itself today, the fact that the earth is a subject with rights as determined in the constitutions or Bolivia or Ecuador, or that in Colombia the Atrato River has also gained legal rights, are more institutional manifestations. But if you look at the everyday of indigenous and rural communities in the Andean regions, and the Amazon Basin, amongst others, you will find post human worlds, where water, rocks, stones, emeralds, fish, corn and other non/human spirits are considered social active agents in the everyday socio-politics of the community. The Colombian sociologist Arturo Escobar calls this 'Pensamiento de la Tierra' (Thought of the Earth), it manifests through a vast array of popular movements across the continent that are based on their unique and constitutive relation to localized nature and to their territories. For these communities, the rivers, the mountains, even the forest are like family, and they take on active roles in the collective efforts of territorial resistance against extractivist industries.  For example, a river can overflow to halt the construction of a dam, or the ground can tremble to complicate a mine operation.  So actually I think that there are non-human worlds happening today, they have been happening for millennia, but colonial and extractivist structures have made a great deal to erase them.

2. The exhibition is based on a narrative that defines a specific context for the artists  and visitors as well as for the additional education program. What implications do you think could come up by exhibiting your work in this setting? Do you think it could generate new readings of your work?

The exhibition proposes a futuristic perspective on my work, which excites me. My work focuses on certain case studies that are unfolding as I write, so even for me, to allow myself to take a step forward and look back to what we call the present, opens a space to imagine aspects of the work and about the specific scenario I am looking at, that I wouldn't been able to see if I didn't take that leap into the future. 

3. What role does social, ecological and economical sustainability play in your artistic practice?

I am weary of the word sustainability. Right now its in full furor, even in the cultural arena artists and institutions talk about developing ´sustainable´practices. But it is a concept coopted by green washed markets to hold in place, and make us feel better about predatory and destructive patterns of desire, production and consumption. I prefer the word sustenance, I think my practice has to do more with nourishment and support.

4. On which level do you think could art contribute to social and ecological changes?

Artists have the ability of challenging coopted concepts and language such as sustainability, progress, development, and growth.  We can become strong allies of people in resistance, bringing into grassroots movements our expertise and skills in constructing and deconstructing images; engaging in visual activism by uprooting oppressive images of nature and landscape, and putting emphasis in power relations that have historically mediated the relation society/nature.

5. During the last decade the liaison between art and science has been a topic frequently discussed. In this context art was often considered to be a successful tool for the production of alternative forms of knowledge. How do you evaluate this idea?

I think there is a lot of potential in cross disciplinary and intersectional practices, it's actually the matrix of critical thought. We can definitely work together towards a new paradigm about human being, life, society, culture, and nature. However, I am not interested in apolitical, merely scientific studies or approaches to environmental issues, as well as I am not interested in producing scientific art.  I mean there is a lot of tension between scientific innovation and social equality. As an artist I align myself more with the science of the people, or accumulated knowledge, thatstems out of a profound connection and relationship with one's ecosystem, and that is transmitted thru generations. In that sense I am closer to a more Latin American genealogy of political ecology, where intellectual mingling create lively movements that struggle against environmental injustices, and work towards a more diversely robust construction and perception of knowledge.

6. What is one of your favorite YouTube videos that deals with a certain aspect of the exhibition (e.g. the non-human scenario, environmental factors or sustainability)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXz4XPuB_BM
I love Abuela Grillo (Grandmother Grasshopper) a simple and beautiful animation about water privatization and the power of collective organizing.

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Weitere Beiträge

Soft Rains – 

Carolina Caycedo (EN)
„Esto no es agua / This Is Not Water“, „Foresight Filaments“

Carolina Caycedo vereint in ihrer künstlerischen Praxis Aktivismus und Kunst. Sie überträgt ihre Recherchen, Interviews und Dokumentationen in Objekte, Zeichnungen und Videos, die anschließend in einen Ausstellungskontext überführt werden. Zentrale Aspekte ihrer Arbeit finden sich in der Verteidigung von Territorien indigener Bevölkerungsgruppen sowie ihrem Kampf für die Rechte der natürlichen Umwelt. Durch visuelle Medien, Klangarbeiten und Vorträge rückt sie die gesellschaftliche Realität sowie den weltweiten Ökozid in den Blickpunkt der Aufmerksamkeit und eröffnet somit Raum für potenzielle Diskurse und Paradigmenwechsel. Innerhalb von Caycedos Werk spielt das Element des Wassers eine besondere Rolle, da in der indigenen Kosmologie alle Gewässer miteinander in Verbindung stehen: „Die Flüsse sind die Venen des Planeten, ihr Wasser fließt durch alle Gemeinden und Ökosysteme.“ Auf subtile Weise lenkt Caycedo mit ihren Arbeiten den Blick auf zentrale Umweltkatastrophen unserer Zeit – welche unter anderem Flüsse, indigene Gruppen und Ökosysteme in Südamerika von Kolumbien bis Brasilien betreffen – und gibt der lokalen Bevölkerung, die von der fortschreitenden Ausbeutung natürlicher Ressourcen durch Rohstoffabbau und Wasserkraftnutzung unmittelbar betroffen ist, eine öffentliche Stimme. Obwohl die Nutzung von Wasserkraft oft als grüne Energie betrachtet wird, haben einige Nationen die ökologischen Risiken und Schäden, die durch Staudämme entstehen, bereits erkannt, und beginnen diese abzureißen. Während die westlichen Länder diesen Prozess auf ihrem eigenen Territorium vorantreiben, bauen deren Konzerne im globalen Süden jedoch riesige Wasserkraftwerke. Für Südamerika sind derzeit mindestens 250 neue Bauprojekte dieser Art geplant, die langfristig den gesamten dortigen Lebensraum beeinträchtigen werden.

Alle Artist Interviews

Soft Rains – 

Filippa Pettersson & Tamara Antonijevic interview on 7AM

The performance is set in an office environment under water, where the audience can witness three creatures doing their routines. I wouldn’t call it a futuristic scenario, it’s rather an impression of these imagined beings that look and act a lot like humans. However, as the performance unfolds, it becomes clear that there is something off about them and that they are maybe not human at all.

I have 5 questions Mr. Orlow

1. What does the idea of a non-human world mean to you? Do you see it as an inspiring artistic proposition or as a real possibility for the near future? The world is non-human, we are the last to arrive to the party - and we are definitely spoiling the fun.

5 Questions with Mario Pfeifer

1. What does the idea of a non-human world mean to you? Do you see it as an inspiring artistic proposition or as a real possibility for the near future? I would say it's a rather scary proposition. Therefore it can be an inspiring idea for an artist. In my case, I find it more inspiring to think about how to avoid such a scenario and wonder what would the conditions for a non-human world be: war, disaster—or an outlook on a better habitat than we currently live in. How realistic is it? Well, it's more realistic with world leaders who use language like, “We are going to bomb the shit out of you,” or, “Climate change is a hoax,” than with more progressive thinkers who want to make sure we live a sustainable life on earth. Another aspect is that innovators preparing for civilian space travel might conquer another habitat and make it unattractive to stay on Earth for a certain group of civilians, namely the rich, the smart, and the biologically most advanced human beings. It's inspiring to think critically about these conditions, but I am more in favour of making life on Earth more equal and sustainable.

Pinar Yoldas

1. What does the idea of a non-human world mean to you? Do you see it as an inspiring artistic proposition or as a real possibility for the near future? I do not get a kick out of the possibility of a non-human world. Since humans emerged as a species who dominated the planet, a world without humans would mean that our models for civilization failed us. I do not find inspiration in the mass failure of human cultures, to live harmoniously with other organisms inhabiting Earth. My inspiration comes from the intrinsic and undeniable beauty of the natural world in its all complexity to the point that we understand it with our science or by other means we have been endowed with. Yet it is very humbling to accept that human beings may or may not be around let’s say in the next 500 years. It is the same kind of humbling thought that one could get when one understands their own death.
Soft Rains – 

Interview with Jeronimo Voss

1. The exhibition is based on the narrative of a non-human world. This theme defines the context for the artists and visitors as well as for the additional education program. For your project you decided to stage holograms of bookshelves photographed in living rooms. What is your main interest in this topic? I got the idea when I read about the ancient mythology of Cassandra. Cassandra is the seer that herself isn’t seen. According to Greek mythology her prophecies are ignored by her fellow Trojan citizens because she is cursed by a god whom she refuses to have sex with. As a priest, as a seer, she states that this society will not sustain itself much longer. So she knows about the social crisis that surrounds her – a knowledge that is probably not supernatural given that Troy is besieged by Greek enemy soldiers. As a result, she is not only ignored but even considered a traitor. I think this story speaks a lot about those who still deal with the truth of the current and future social reality and it’s unfolding crisis, how powerless it can feel to analyse and speak about this crisis without being able to directly having an impact on it – just think of the hatred people can face in today’s “post-factual” media world. Allan Sekula once stated: “the old myth that photographs tell the truth has been replaced by the new myth that they lie.” So I decided to stage photographs of bookshelves in a Cassandrian setting. In my view Cassandra’s caves today are living rooms filled with knowledge about the ongoing crisis of the last 3000 years of class society. If humanity will really end in self-extinction one probably would find an answer for how and why this happened in these caves.