First Encounters

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269501

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Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

First Encounters

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Description

The project “First Encounters” tells the stories of species that meet for the very first time, due to climate-change induced range shifts. The installation visualises possible consequences that travel through local ecologies to various human-made systems, to manifest as real every-day challenges for us humans to overcome. Transforming empirical data into emotional realities the project shows that we are just one species amongst many, fostering visions of a multi-species society.

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

We are currently experiencing a global redistribution of life on Earth. Across all ecosystems species are shifting their distributions in response to recent and ongoing climate change in order to track their preferred climatic conditions. This creates novel species interactions, as species that have evolved in isolation from one another come into contact for the first time. The current pandemic has shown, how the impacts of the encounter of bat and pangolin on a wildlife market can travel the globe within days. With more species inevitably crossing paths in the future, events like these are expected to happen more often. Patterns of movement become patterns of encounter. The project „First Encounters“ tells the stories of species encounters building on empirical data of documented species range shifts, developed in close exchange with scientists from the fields of Evolutionary Ecology, Animal Migration and Marine Biology. Through the interdisciplinary approach of 'Anticipatory Ecology’ and ‘Speculative Design’ the project seeks to unravel some of the ecological complexity that lies beyond our grasp. The project speculates about possible impacts, from the transformation of local ecosystems to human systems of trade, food security, geopolitical and jurisdictional structures as well as human health. As a spatial installation the project leads the story around the visitor to reconnect cause and effects and to bring the human back into relation to the dynamics he set off. With the entrance of the human into the ’arena of encounters’ and thus into the story, the dynamics are kicked off and the human is now left to observe as the cascade unrolls. The non-linear curatorial narrative shows impacts travelling through the exhibition space, as they travel around the globe, connecting remote encounters with direct, tangible impacts. Showing that we are just one species amongst many, the project fosters visions of planetary inter-species dependencies.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

According to Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, the Biodiversity Strategy aims at better balancing nature, food systems and biodiversity; to protect people's health and well-being, and at the same time to increase the EU's competitiveness and resilience. (EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030) Dynamics generated by human impact on climate unleash ecological knock-on effects that in turn deeply impact all aspects of human life on Earth, such as systems of trade, food security, geopolitical and jurisdictional structures as well as human health. Affecting the very architecture of our systems, impacts call for the restructuring of our societies and shared spaces, raising questions of multi-species habitats. With this global reconfiguration of species communities, ‘first encounters’ are taking place not only in the wilderness but also right next to us, in the city centers of Europe. Many species will not only cross into new habitats but also new geopolitical areas, requiring our human societies to collaborate trans-nationally. The shift in global movement patterns - moving up north in Europe - will increase the pressure on territorial conflicts between the species including human communities. Generating impacts that connect local communities with remote stakeholders the project shows how tightly bound the human species is to other life on Earth. Trophic cascades span every distance - with consequences reaching deep into our lives, transforming European culture, society, and economy. ‘First Encounters' prompts a mind-shift to understand the inter-dependencies of species on the planet as a way forward in the new normal. With more species crossing paths in the future due to changed climatic circumstances we need to learn how live in a rapidly changing, connected world, and how to navigate uncertainty. As a research tool to anticipate potential consequences the project seeks to actively take part in shaping a sustainable multi-species society. 

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

As a spatial installation the project leads the story around the visitor to reconnect cause and effects and to bring the human back into relation to the dynamics he set off. Projected animations of animals roaming the exhibition space surround the visitor together with footage showing possible impacts on food webs and systems of trade, producing an immersive, 360-degree experience.  Each encounter of two species produces multiple impact narratives. This idea also manifests in the spatial concept for the project, implementing the “Cascade of Ecological Momentum” into its floor-plan. The non-linear curatorial narrative integrates the visitor as a vital element into its spatial storytelling concept. With the entrance of the human into the ’arena of encounters’ and thus into the story, the dynamics are kicked off and the human is now left to observe as the cascade unrolls. Impacts travel through the exhibition space, as they travel around the globe, connecting remote encounters with direct, tangible impacts. As human species we are standing in the center of consequences - with observer-status only, and we understand that the only option left, is to adapt to the changes we have set off.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

Understanding ‘Species Redistribution Ecology’ and communicating scientific data to the public will play a vital role in furthering future ways of living together on this planet. Scientists from the field call for ways of communicating the data, explicitly asking for interdisciplinary projects that bring various stakeholders together. The project “First Encounters“ functions as bridge that spans scientific data and a wider public. In my position as a designer, working via the axis of visual storytelling makes empirical research tangible and accessible, providing for a democratic and socially inclusive setting for debate. Transforming scientific evidence into emotional realities the project ́s mission is to make the consequences we set off with our own actions a spatial experience, questioning the place of the human being in contemporary’s global ecosystem. Asking what it means to be human today, "First Encounters” aims at implementing a consciousness of mutual species dependencies into our human way of thinking. Human life depends on other life on this planet, and this will become even more apparent in the next years, when we start to feel some of the consequences of species crossing paths for the first time. As a long term goal the project aims at including other species in processes of geopolitical decision making and to foster visions of a multi-species society.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

“First Encounters” communicates that in fact there is only one global ecosystem on this planet, since all species are connected via trophic cascades. Unravelling ecological complexity in an immersive installation setting, the project aims at creating emotional responses to empirical facts. Building on data of documented species range shifts and speculating on impacts on human lives, the project combines the forces of “Anticipatory Ecology” and “Speculative Design” into a unique interdisciplinary approach. Applying investigative methods to anticipate various ‚first encounters‘, the project functions as a research tool, not in a scientific sense but in the understanding of Speculative Design.  The project speculates about possible consequences for us humans and drafts potential scenarios for futures full of uncertainty. No-one knows what the shift in species distribution will trigger in detail, but it is certain that the dynamics generated by first encounters unleashes a chain of consequences for human lives. Against this backdrop the craft of speculation reaches new dimensions, as speculation might come just as true as anything else. Working with the powers of Speculative Design to make potential consequences tangible, and emotionally relatable, the project proves that other futures are possible by envisioning multiple potential scenarios helping navigating uncertainty.

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

Given the topicality connecting climate change with the origin for the Pandemic, the project has already found resonance on an international level. “First Encounters” is currently on show at the Vienna Biennale for Change/ Climate Care at the Museum of Applied Arts as well as part of the official program of the Human-Animal Relations Conference Tel Aviv this June.  Next steps for the development of the project include establishing a platform for international knowledge accumulation in the following months, linking the specific field of ‘Species Redistribution Ecology’ with the approach of Speculative Design.  Drawing on data documenting range shifts (such as provided by the database “Movebank” by the Max-Planck Institute) and integrating these data sets into the system of the “Cascade of Ecological Momentum”, the aim is to create a cause-consequence simulator that will function as an interdisciplinary research tool in the form of an open-access platform. This investigation is called “Turning the Ecological Gears” and spans science and art on its search for possible futures that include citizens as well as scientists, politicians as well as designers in order to actively take part in shaping our future multi-species society.

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.