Thoughts Thinking Thoughts

Radar

An online talk and discussion exploring how artists have engaged with the shift towards economic thinking in ecology. 


In 1953 Eugene and Howard Odum published Fundamentals of Ecology: one of the first textbooks to elaborate a general theory of ecological interaction. In keeping with the systems thinking popular at the time, the Odums conceptualised ecological processes as energy flows using ideas drawn from cybernetics and electrical engineering.Fundamentals of Ecology had a lasting influence on how nature is understood, and was updated in new editions for several decades. Fast forward to the last 20 years, and a new vocabulary emerges alongside that of systems thinking. Joining the language of feedback mechanisms and energy transfers is a range of metaphors drawn from finance and economics. Nature is reconceptualised as Natural Capital, biodiversity can be banked and offset, and discrete parcels of land become the bearers of ecological credits schemes. In this, the risks to our ecological future become features of financial markets. Will this help preserve environments, or merely enable people to profit from them? This event will consider this shift towards economic thinking in ecology, and explore a variety of art practices that critically rework such initiatives from within.Theo Reeves-Evison is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Birmingham School of Art, working on a project entitled ‘Speculative Natures: Contemporary Art and Interventionist Ecology’. This investigates how processes of speculation and storytelling have the capacity to organise environmental activities around imagined futures. He organised a series of ‘Study Sessions’ exploring the issue at Nottingham Contemporary in 2019; is the editor, together with Jon K. Shaw of Fiction as Method (Sternberg, 2017); and has published in magazines and journals including Frieze, Paragrana and Parallax. In 2018 he edited a special issue of the journal Third Text with Mark Rainey on ‘ethico-aesthetic repairs,’ and his monograph After Transgression: Ethics of Contemporary Art is to be published in 2021 by BloomsburyPlease note: Eventbrite processes data (including any personal data you may submit during your booking) outside of the European Economic Area. Please only submit any personal data which you are happy to have processed in this way, and in accordance with Eventbrite’s privacy policy applicable to respondents; a copy of this policy is available at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/support/articles/en_US/Troubleshooting/eventbrite-privacy-policy?lg=en_GB

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Thoughts Thinking Thoughts

More events from Radar

Discover more events from Radar, from Arts to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.

Thoughts Thinking Thoughts

More events from Radar

Discover more events from Radar, from Arts to other experiences you might love.

More Arts events

Browse more Arts events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.