Contextualization 1
VISUALIZING THE CIRCULATION OF MATERIALS
Mimmi Koponen
ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY AND CIRCULATION OF WATER
In the current state of climate crisis natural resources need to be used in a responsible way based on circulation. The circulation of life and the circulation of material are based on the circulation of water. Human bodies are an inseparable part of both of these circulations. In her book “Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning” (2007) Karen Barad argues, based on physicist Niels Bohr’s theory of quantum physics, that everything is connected to everything and nothing can be isolated and measured as autonomous. According to Barad all the sciences need to be reviewed from this point of view. Minimizing the climate crisis that is an entanglement of many different crisis, such as global warming, mass extinction, ocean acidification, deforestation and climate inequality, requires new ways of thinking. Barad introduces one such way, where the notion of entanglement is in central role. Barad’s way of thinking is interesting to read as a potential key to solving all the different crisis that need to be solved simultaneously, because it combines several different sciences. The book opens interesting points of view to matter, time and space. Barad’s book resonates with what I want to explore in my artistic practice, specifically the part of humans in the circulation of material. Barad aims to break common dichotomies, such as humans – no humans and natural – cultural. I am studying similar breakage of relations in my artwork, such as human - nature, organic - inorganic, human impact on nature - the forces of nature, past - (present) - future and permanent - impermanent.
In the introduction chapter “Figuring Bodies of Water” of her book “Bodies of Water, Posthuman Feminist Phenomenology” (2017) Astrida Neimanis is introducing her thoughts around water. She is combining all the living beings on earth together belonging to the world’s watery system of bodies of water, such as oceans and rivers. She points out that the same water forming and going through our bodies have been and will be going through others, as well human as animal bodies. And being tied to the common water, “hydrocommons” as she calls it, our bodies are part of the crisis regarding water, such as floods, and so our bodies are part of the potential solutions to them.
Neimanis’ text is interesting to my practice, because one of the main themes I’m focusing on is circular economy and the circulation of water is the main thing that keeps it going. There is no sustainability without circulation. The aspect that human bodies are bodies of water adds a new level to my exploration, connecting human bodies, unburned clay and water to the same big circulation. More specifically I’m exploring the circulation of materials I define as natural such as unburned clay and (water in a form of) snow. These natural materials are taken from nature and modified as little as possible, making the possibility for them to dissolve and return to the great circulation of matter faster. I see this kind of use of materials often wise, since producing them doesn’t require fossil energy. After the lifecycle of use, maintenance and possible recycling has ended, this kind of materials will return to the nature as such. This kind of processes disturb nature as little as possible. These materials are also almost free of charge, often easily accessible and comfortable for all senses. For example, using clay in room surfaces creates a good indoor climate.
“With a drop of cliché, I could remind you that our human bodies are at least two-thirds water, but more interesting than these ontological maths is what this water does – where it comes from, where it goes, and what it means along the way.” (Neimanis 2017, 2).
We are not separated from our surroundings; we are inextricably connected to it sharing the same water in ourselves. What we do to our surroundings, nature as well as public spaces in the city, affects also us. People are natural material too. Wouldn’t that suggest that natural materials are good for us? For example, the plastic we use and then throw away returns to the cells of our bodies as microplastics. As Neimanis says, our bodies are part of the pressing ecological questions to do with water, such as floods, and what we do with our bodies and our spaces have potential to be part of solving these situations. Our planetary water systems are wounded, and they need our responsive actions right now, that’s why it’s urgent to identify ourselves as bodies of water (Neimanis 2017, 5).
THE MATERIAL
Clay forms from different stone species by weathering process as part of the great circulation of matter. Secondary clay types have been drifted to the sea where they have formed sediments. (Aalto University 2022). Water is a vital part of the circulation, formation and shaping of clay. In addition to being the circulating force, water in the form of snow is itself a material that can be used in ways comparable to the use of clay.
Ursula K. Le Guin argues in her essay the “Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction” (1986) that even though the mammoth hunters are well-represented in the cave paintings, since the hunting episodes make a catching story with a hero, eating in prehistoric times was mostly based on things collected. To collect and store food some kind of a container was needed that can be for example a carrier bag or home, a container of people. The container in the case of this essay is a novel, but the same can be said of an artwork.
Like a carrier bag, unburned clay is an interesting material to work with. Its good qualities are in many ways underestimated for example in the current building industry in the Nordic countries. Unburned clay could be used to make pleasant low structures. It can be formed into soft shapes. The surfaces are fragile, but they can be easily maintained. Traditionally clay has been used to make pots and containers that are tools to take care of the home, that has traditionally been done by women. Could then this disregarding of unburned clay be because it is seen to be too feminine material?
VISUALIZING THE CIRCULATION
One of the questions I’m intrigued with is, how long should a building last? Some things are supposed to outlast us, such as museums. Buildings in themselves store memory, knowledge, skills and resources. They store culture and action in the space and communities that perform it. But in today’s world, what kind of material marks we can leave from ourselves, if any? How to think about circular economy of buildings that are going to be built after this moment, should they be made to last forever or to return to nature in a most natural way possible? What kind of materials and building techniques are the best for the natural circulation of materials? How to make art out of the process of that circulation?
Everything made by humans is impermanent, but it takes more time for some things to return to nature than others. Monte dei Cocci, also known as Monte Testaccio, is a landfill hill in Rome dating from the ancient period of the Roman empire and lasting for several centuries. The hill is mainly formed of broken clay pots called amphorae. The pre-historical and natural cultures have disappeared without leaving almost no material traces of themselves. The oldest still standing building in Finland is from the 1200’s, but there has been people living in Finland for thousands of years, since the latest ice age ended. There are utterly little material remnants of their material culture to be found.
In my artworks I want to make visible the possibilities, challenges, meanings and beauty that unburned clay has as a material. An artwork I am making is a scale model of the part of the KHiO building complex where our studio is and that is in Akerselva. The model will be made of unburned clay and sticks. To experiment in visualizing its process of returning to nature it will be placed in the river. River as a flow of water with its humid atmosphere is a good location to follow dissolving of natural materials. Rivers are an important part of the cycle of time and material. They show the human effect on nature fast and remind us to be mindful to nature that we are part of and that everything we do effects on. They show the passing of time by showing the change in climate, change of the route of the flow and change of the use people have had of them, such as transportation and making hydroelectric power.
I’m planning on organising a workshop and gather a group of volunteers to take over for example an abandoned brick factory building by Alnaelva. The aim is to build a small temporary structure out of materials that will return to nature after the project has ended. In this case I’m thinking of using unburned clay. The structure could be made of “sustainable bricks” made of reed and unburned clay. Putting unburned and burned clay side by side like this, and focusing on a building that is standing empty I want to highlight the difference that human processing has on materials.
Snow can be seen as a material that is part of nature and that can be used for building. My work “Waiting for a snowflake” is a workshop and performance that underlines climate change, and the influence weather has on people. I will organise a snow building workshop whenever there is snow. In the meanwhile, I invited everyone from our university to join the workshop and wait with me putting up a poster saying: When is the snow coming? Does it come back this winter? The workshop will be different depending on the amount of snow. If there is only little snow, imaginary spaces can be drawn on the ground and the structures can be lifted later if there is more snow. If something gets to be built there will be maintenance workshops and events held in the space hoping for it to last.
In this text I have described my artistic projects in so far as the theories of Barad (everything is connected to everything), Neimanis (human bodies are bodies of water) and Le Guin (carrier bag theory) are related to and have elaborated them. My way of reflecting these theories is to apply them in my art.
LIST OF REFERENCES:
Barad, Karen. 2007. Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Duke University Press.
Le Guin, Ursula K. 1986. The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction.
Neimanis, Astrida. 2017. Bodies of Water: Posthuman Feminist Phenomenology. London: Bloomsbury.
Aalto University. ”Keramiikan käsikirja.” 2022. Read 24.11.2023. https://openlearning.aalto.fi/mod/book/view.php?id=14865