Contents
Introduction
Postcolonial ecocriticism is a field of study that examines how colonised peoples and their environments have been impacted by violence, social and ecological. This essay seeks to prove that a key tenet of said violence is the centring of human beings and our interactions with the natural world. Boredomresearch is an artist collective composed of two artists who draw inspiration from biodiversity and environmental conservation, Vicky Isley and Paul Smith. In their works, such as ‘Anthrobiotica Part 1: Sampling’ (2020), the willingness, or lack thereof, to recognise and protect the pieces that make up the delicate but vital structures which compose human daily lives is worth discussing. The concept of the “Anthropocene” - a term referring to the current geological era in which human activity is the dominant influence on Earth’s climate and ecosystems - highlights the idea that humans are responsible for shaping the planet to meet our own needs and desires. This is in contrast to indigenous ideologies of stewardship towards our natural environments (Ross et. al, 2016).
Boredomresearch’s work gives attention to the many different nodes in our networks, using technology and art to illustrate the human attachments to the nonhuman strings of our various interlacements. Through the lens of theories such as “thing-power” (Bennett, 2004), we may come to actualise methods of both biological and non-biological preservation in various fields: the environment, medicine, and social care. Thing-power is an eco-philosophy illuminating the importance and vitality of non-human things. Although Bennett’s point of view is expressed through the white gaze and thus leans towards traditional Western philosophy (Mumble Theory, 2019), the decentring of the human subject cannot be ignored and remains an important facet of new eco-theory.
Raghu Garud and Peter Karnøe further highlight this idea with their theory of “distributed agency” in 2003: both human and non-human actors create momentum that accumulates and transforms different technological paths that in turn also shape the actors themselves. This essay will begin by discussing agency in relation to colonial violence. It will then analyse depictions of “interactions, dependencies, [and] influences” (Isley & Smith, 2017) in the works of boredomresearch. It explains the need for decentering humanity in the designs of new ecological and technological systems. Finally, why the recognition of aforementioned theories in postcolonial ecocriticism is necessary, and how boredomresearch’s visual portrayal of this principle is essential in the public sphere.
Distributed Agency in boredomresearch artworks
The theory of distributed agency could be applied to understand the ways in which different actors: settler colonists, colonised peoples, and natural environments affect each other to create the systems of ecological and social dysfunction humanity finds itself in today. The “mission of domination, exploitation, and self-aggrandisement” (Bulhan, H.A., 2004) that is settler colonialism fractures the relationships between different forms of life through control, exerting more influence over the planetary network than is appropriate to maintain equilibrium. It is clear that the natural environment has its own agency independent of human control or manipulation, but there is a near-unanimous consensus from the scientific community that human activity is the cause of the climate crisis (McMichael, Woodruff, Hales, 2006). The processes in which we interact with and extract information from the planet are often borne of human hubris that we impose on the entities we connect with and connect us with each other.
Figure 1: a still of ‘Anthrobiotica Part 1: Sampling’ (2020) by boredomresearch.
Boredom research portrays this in their piece ‘Anthrobiotica Part 1: Sampling’ (2020), seen in Figure 1. In this video artwork, microbiological life is shown in hyperbolized electroluminescence, habituating the underwater world of Mar Menor - a saltwater lagoon located on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Due to different agents such as agricultural practices, urbanisation, and industrial activities, the lagoon is polluted. Toxic algae reproduce at a dangerously swift rate as a consequence of the nutrient runoff from farmlands in the surrounding areas. These farmlands use chemical fertilisers such as nitrates, ammonium and phosphates. Not only do these chemicals destroy the ecological environment of the soil, but also contribute to air pollution (Li & Wu, 2008). The continuous use of them without any remedial measures allows the toxic algae and bacteria to grow, depriving the water of oxygen, and suffocating the fish. As a result, the ecosystem becomes unbalanced, resultantly affecting the health of marine and human lives.
The actors in Mar Menor can be said to possess similar levels of power over each other, and the vitality of the unstable algae and bacteria growth is undeniable. The concept of distributed agency highlights the need for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to addressing the pollution in the saltwater lagoon, involving all the actors and addressing all the contributing factors in order to restore the health of the lagoon and its ecosystem.
Figure 2: a still of ‘In Search of Chemozoa’ (2020) by boredomresearch.
Another piece by boredomresearch, ‘In Search of Chemozoa’ (2020) - shown in Figure 2 - draws parallels between the fragile balance of our internal physiological systems and our ecological ones. It is a moving image installation displaying a world inhabited by virtual organisms known as ‘Chemozoa’, which are programmed to perform the mechanisms of cancerous cells; these organisms are designed to “survive in toxic environments that act as an analogue for chemotherapy” (boredomresearch, 2020). They are created using a combination of cellular automata, artificial intelligence, and generative algorithms. The installation allows the viewer to explore the virtual world, observing the imagined cells as they interact with each other and their environment: a human body undergoing cancer treatment, a notoriously taxing and damaging process. A nonliteral interpretation could be that the artwork is a metaphor for the complex interactions and dependencies that cause damage in the natural world. Calling for a new perspective on the relationship between humans and other biological bodies, ‘In Search of Chemozoa’ (2020) identifies the ways in which health can be preserved in the body by acknowledging conflict without aggression. A person afflicted with cancer is still a whole and distinct individual despite the discord in their physiology. There is a need for a measured, neutral understanding of the multiple interacting systems and a multifaceted approach to all supplying actors. There is no single entity solely responsible for any outcome of an illness such as cancer.
Thing Power in boredomresearch artworks
The theory of thing-power offers a challenging perspective on the traditional human-centric view of the world, in which non-human entities are seen as mere resources to be used and controlled by humans in their colonial conquests. In a technological sense, ships and guns gave colonisers a military advantage over the indigenous populations they encountered, allowing them to take control of their land and resources. These nonhuman entities played a crucial role in the success of colonisation by providing the colonisers with the means to exert their power over the supposed new world and its inhabitants. The concept of thing-power shifts focus away from only humans and towards a more holistic understanding of the relations between humans, technology, and the natural environment. The environment should be understood as having its own agency and power, providing more nuance in the way it has been impacted by colonial powers.
Bennett’s argument that non-living entities such as rocks, rivers, and machines shape our experiences and perceptions of the world is reflected in various artworks by boredomresearch. Particularly, ‘Robots in Distress’ (2017) is a PC game system built with the Blender Game Engine. It depicts an underwater setting polluted by hazardous plastic waste and populated by machine craft. The robots are able to synthesise emotions, namely hopelessness and distress, as they try to navigate their way around their environment. They are not just passive objects, but active agents that shape the viewer’s experience and understanding of technology and emotion.
A central theme in Bennett’s theory of thing-power is the role that nonhuman entities, in this case, the ‘Robots in Distress’ and also the plastic of the contaminated world they inhabit, play in shaping human society and culture. With the banning of plastic straws and impassioned campaigns to save the turtles and other sea life, it is clear that plastic waste occupies an emotional place in the public mindset. Through this lens, ecological and technological agents would be seen not just as tools to further human advancement of the privileged and powerful, but rather as having their own agency and power that can help shape all human experience and understanding.
In ‘Afterglow’ (2016), shown in Figure 3, boredomresearch creates a sense of wonder and awe, forming a “new expression of a malaria infection transmission scenario, placing the audience in the perspective of the mosquitoes” through an autonomous camera (boredomresearch, 2016). It is a mini PC game system also created in the Blender Game Engine. In the project, the viewer witnesses glowing, spiralling flight paths of mosquitoes infected with a malaria parasite. These groups of flight paths appear about the landscape, increasing in number and frequency as the simulation progresses. Contrastingly, erratic black spirals show infection cases left by the paths of the travelling macaques who also live on the island. Viewers are confronted with the dizzying visual expressions of the disease. The title and immersiveness of the experience invite the viewer to contemplate the idea of transition, technology, and nature.
Figure 3: a still from ‘Afterglow’ (2016) by boredomresearch.
The 3D landscape of ‘Afterglow’, shaped by generative algorithms, is able to change and evolve in real-time with the increase of transmission, thus having its own agency and power. The different elements of the engine are all active agents in shaping the viewer’s understanding of this natural phenomenon, who in turn is an active participant in the installation. The mosquito’s ability to transmit the disease, along with its ability to survive and thrive in a variety of environments, gives it a significant amount of agency and thing-power in shaping the spread of malaria. The macaques too are active agents, as their behaviour, population density, and geographical distribution in relation to human settlements play a significant role in transmission. Boredomresearch is allowed artistic freedoms that typical scientific data visualisations are not, giving them the chance to highlight the vitality of each individual body involved in an infection scenario through the use of light, sound and colour. In showing and hiding decided visual elements they are able to effectively communicate the force of things through their artwork.
Conclusion
The recognition of theories such as thing-power and distributed agencies in human networks would address the interconnectedness of social, economic, and environmental systems. Moving towards more sustainable forms of production would lead to a healthier society (Sarkis & Zhu, 2018) that is equipped to recognise the rights and autonomy of marginalised communities, as well as the nonhuman entities that inhabit the Earth. In conclusion, settler colonialism must be disrupted in order to restore symmetry between human and nonhuman relationships. Acknowledging the agency of things, and decentralising humanity in network system design, is a way to create concerted solutions for a variety of issues. Government decisions should take into account all vital forces that are acted on by humanity’s agency, not only those deemed as worthy, or those that subscribe to colonialist dogma. The vitality of such forces is illustrated clearly in the works of boredomresearch, in which the decentring of humankind is obvious through their focus on cells, plants, animals, and biomes. Their art comes at a critical time in developing human relationships with each other and the world.
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