This Bag is Not a Toy
The meaning of ‘’nature” in Western societies is often reduced to a resource. The environment is reformulated into what it can provide for humanity. Through daily activities, such as walking and reflective writing, I formulated a criticism against the tendency of Western society to assign a function as such to every living thing. Collecting materials during daily walks through woods, forests, parks, streets, construction- and trash sites, I assembled four sculptures invoking a sense of the body. They lie useless in front of us, confronting the viewer with a functionless object that can no longer be used.
Project details
- Year
- 2023
- Programme
- rasl-dual-degree-bachelor-define-art
- Practices
- Honours Programme
- Minor
- Visual Culture / Honours Programme
An understanding of the meanings assigned to nature requires a thorough understanding of the human perception of nature and its origins in Western evolutions such as the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. The great emphasis on reason and the tendency to control nature and unveil her secrets have led to a dissociation between humans and the natural environment. We often perceive the natural as something without human engagement. I felt that the extreme emphasis upon reason, resulting from the Enlightenment, has been damaging towards natural resources and led to alienation from our surroundings, as I have experienced myself. This alienation arose from the tendency of Western capitalist society to continuously accelerate, and feeling like I cannot adapt to this constant flow. Through this project, I attempted to overcome the fixation on reason and the dissonance I experienced from my surroundings.
