A Whole Systems Approach to Health, Art and Ecology

I am writing from Teufen, a small town in the Swiss mountains. I am here because of a unique health clinic called the Paracelsus Klinik. The Paracelsus Klinik is the home of biological medicine, a type of medicine that looks at the body as a whole system and embraces the cutting edge of alternative and scientific medicine. I am here because I have a bladder disease that is a mystery to mainstream medicine and I have lived in constant pain since 2001. The Paracelsus Klinik has had amazing success treating all sorts of “untreatable” diseases and they have an enviable record of curing cancer, tumours, inflammatory, autoimmune and degenerative diseases. In my life I am becoming increasingly interested in whole systems thinking. Systems thinking is a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of relationships with each other and with other systems, rather than in isolation. I am noticing the connections and the interconnections. It is easy to see however that in society there is a dangerous trend towards specializing. Doctors who focus on one part of the body, urology, gynaecology, podiatry, create the misconception that each part of the body is autonomous, whereas in fact a root canal can lead to arthritis or even heart disease, and the whole body is affected when one part is inflamed. In my body, in my art and in my work I am interested in how to embrace a whole systems approach.

So far this semester I feel like my understanding of new forms of contemporary art practice has expanded. I am particularly interested in dialogical art, ecological art and the trend towards interdisciplinary collaboration. As I look at my blood under darkfield microscopy and see the alkaline and acidic balance of my body, or a bacterial invasion, it reminds me of the water testing that I do for my work, noticing the total suspended solids or ammonia. In ecological wastewater treatment we look at the cycle of water and how the wastewater is a resource and when cleaned with micro-organisms in systems that replicate the kidneys of the earth, wetlands, the water can be returned to the toilets for re-use or become valuable irrigation water. With my thoughts often on waste products internal and external it is clear that all aspects of the cycle must be examined. In a river the source is as important as the sink and the cities and towns, the factories and fertilizers all take their toll. In the body our food greatly affects our health, 80% of the immune system is in the small intestines, the chemicals and toxins from food, water, air and stress slowly lead to illness.

In order to come into balance it is essential to address all the problems and to listen deeply. So the artist working in community or from a dialogical or whole systems approach does not begin from a place of knowing, but instead involves all the people, asks questions and from this process the art unfolds, so too in biological medicine health comes from addressing all possible weaknesses and boosting the immune system. When a doctor gives chemical medicine to hide the symptom the problem does not go away, sewage flowing into a river appears to disappear but in fact is doing great harm, public art about a subject which was not involved, can be alienating and ultimately less successful than art that comes out of dialogue. Grant H. Kester writes, “Throughout, the locus of expressive meaning remains the radically autonomous figure of the individual artist. A dialogical aesthetic suggests a very different image of the artist, one defined in terms of openness, of listening, and of a willingness to accept a position of dependence and intersubjective vulnerability relative to the viewer or collaborator.”

It is clear that the grave problems facing each of us personally, facing society as a whole and facing the environment do not have easy answers. In complexity we must use creative whole systems thinking, look outside of the box and involve people from all backgrounds, knowledge and skill sets. Here at Paracelsus I see a kinesiologist one moment and receive an intravenous drip of vitamins and homeopathic medicines the next. I am reminded of the artist Jay Koh who began with a focus on health even creating an interactive information system for patients to evaluate and read evaluations of doctors. Much of his work has involved interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue. His organization “arting” focuses on art as a means for social and structural change especially centred on Asia. In writing about arting Kester writes, “Underlying many of arting’s projects is the recognition that complex social and political issues, like those raised by genetic research, cannot be adequately addressed simply by fabricating physical objects but require polyvalent responses that operate on multiple levels of public interaction.” In the Paracelsus Klinik I have learned about multiple contributors to my illness, elevated levels of mercury and arsenic, viruses and bacteria in the blood, food allergies.. likewise if an artist is looking to create substantial change it is important to observe, listen, here from different perspectives, be inclusive and use a variety of approaches. A painkiller is not a cure, a complex system needs a solution that can address its complexity, a wastewater treatment system must be sized to the population, it must be resilient and able to create multiple biological processes, any treatment, physical, social ecological needs to be kaleidoscopic in nature.

Finnish Island Planting

Finland Week Three:

The Biomatrix Islands are are primarily an ecological art project. We are aiming for a balance between man and nature, aesthetics and functionality. As an art project it might appear disappointing if the Islands was indistinguishable from the landscape, but we also want them to blend in gracefully with the natural surroundings. One way of highlighting the special beauty of this manmade island will be with the plants. The plants that currently grow around the lake are bull rushes and phragmites. We will include twenty different native species, many of which are flowering.

The planting process is cold and wet. It is essential that the plants have their roots in the water. We have filled the triangle shapes within the hexagons with flax linen and we are planting into this lightweight natural material. The leaves of the plants will die over the winter but the roots should take hold and new shoots will appear in the spring.

It is essential not to disturb the birds as they come to nest on the islands and therefore the planting needs to occur in the Fall.

Birds and Bolts

Finland Week Two:

Noisy flocks of geese fly low over the lake as we bolt the pipes together, creating the Biomatrix. The weather has been clear and cold and the students are becoming more fluent with the construction process and with English. The black hexagons are striking in the light as the islands take shape; I am beginning to get a sense of the final outcome. There are two levels of height to the big island, which we are creating using large pipes underneath the matrix. We are attaching these pipes using rope and stainless steel strapping. The extra buoyancy of the large pipes will support the gravel and rocks while the regular matrix will be planted with wetland plants. The height difference will make the islands appear more natural.

I have been filming the connection of the hexagons to form the Biomatrix and I would like to create a short video piece in which the process is speeded up so that it is possible to see the island take shape in one minute.

A Blending of Art and Science in Finland

Biomatrix Large Island Design

Materials Arriving at the Site

Beginning Work Assembling the Biomatrix

Jackie Brookner Creating Fake Rocks

Me and My Husband Galen Fulford

Week One: An Introduction to the Project

In Salo, Finland there is a lake that is polluted by a nearby sewage treatment plant. This bright green lake is a key place for migrating birds. With a team of artists, limnologists, ornithologists and college students I am working on creating three floating islands, which will serve multiple purposes. The Islands, the largest of which is 30m diameter, will have local wetland plants growing in the water on which millions of microorganisms will flourish. Patented media below the islands will also provide surface area for these micro-organisms. Aerators will create an aerobic environment encouraging the growth of these positive micro-organisms, which eat the contaminants in the water. On the largest island we will create a protected environment for birds to nest on rocks and gravel.

The project is funded by a 1% for the arts grant from Salo City. It is part of Halikonlahti Green Arts Exhibition which features the work of many Finnish and international artists working within the eco art movement.

Students from the local vocational college studying house building are an important part of the team, giving their muscle power to putting together the HDPE pipes and planting the plants. Jackie Brookner, an ecological artist from New York City is currently making large fake rocks that will be light enough to float on the islands and strong enough for birds to rest. She is working with an expert on nanotechnology to use secret lightweight nanotech concrete.

On the first day a large truck delivered all the materials and we gathered to begin assembling the pieces. The structure, called a Biomatrix, works with the principles of biomimicry, replicating the strongest forms in nature: that of the ice crystal, and the honeycomb. This hexagonal shape is both beautiful and hardy enough to withstand the cold Finnish winter and the ice that will form on the lake.

Treatment process within Biomatrix systems can effectively:

• Reduce COD & BOD loading.
• Reduce TSS.
• Improve the clarity of the water.
• Reduce pathogens.
• Reduce nutrient levels including Nitrogen and Phosphorous.
• Breakdown organic compounds.

I am excited to be involved in this project which is blending art and science. I work with my husband and father in The Ecovillage Institute, an ecological design and engineering partnership based in Findhorn. Together we offer consulting for wastewater treatment using natural systems. This project is especially interesting to me because of its primary role as an art project.

After Nature

In a recent visit to New York City I had the privilege of getting to see a relevant and disturbing exhibition at the New Museum called “After Nature”. Over ninety contemporary artists envision an extinct world or one on the verge of extinction. The show was inspired by "Lessons of Darkness", a video by Werner Herzog of the 700 Kuwaiti oil wells that the Iraqis burned in the wake of the Gulf War. Six million barrels of oil were burned a day and the footage of the smoke, fires, fireman, trucks and wasted landscape looks like the end of the world.

Faced with the overwhelming fact that the Earth’s Ecosystem is out of balance due to human population and the dramatic abuse of fossil fuels, we are forced to imagine scenarios of global catastrophe. We are already experiencing more severe storms, floods, draughts, and hurricanes than ever before. Many scientists predict that runaway global warming is inevitable and as humans warm the planet, the ice caps melt and sea levels rise creating as many as 600 million refuges from rising seas (The International Institute for Environment and Development). As glaciers melt less water is stored as snow creating flooding and lower water tables. Water shortages along with population growth spell disaster. We have been living in a time of unnatural abundance by burning ancient sunlight that has been stored for millions of years. The exhibition “After Nature” is a timely look at our potential lack of future if dramatic change does not take place soon.

Imagine an ethnographic museum full of the remnants of human civilization. Here artist Pawet Althamer created a self-portrait made up of all his clothes and belongings wrapped in plastic. Next to this is “Pawet and Monika” two people frozen in a glass box with cameras and cell phones, yet their insides are made of straw. This is a poignant reminder that we may feel detached from nature yet we are in fact one and the same. Berlinde De Bruyckere has made a wax body that is melted and scared, lying in a glass coffin. Next to this can be viewed “The Magnificent Seven” distorted ceramic heads on metal poles by Thomas Schutte, a sculpture that made me think of warfare, both primal and chemical.

Another artist imagined a world in which nature outlived humanity, shown by photographs of Kudzu vine devouring buildings in the US South. These were both sad and strangely beautiful, showing the Earth’s ability to heal and erase signs of human life. It made me think of ancient ruins from past civilizations such as the Incans and Mayans that were discovered hidden in the jungles of Central and South America. Diego Perrone also used photography to take pictures of large holes in the Earth with humans interacting with the spaces. He says about his work “ I wish to speak for nature”.

George Bush has tried to fill our minds with religious views of good and evil and the idea that the “axis of evil” exists in the Middle Eastern states. Inspired by this image of paranoia Roberto Cuoghi has sought to create a psychogeography of this evil empire through black glass, lead and ink maps of imaginary “dark” landscapes. In perhaps one of the most distressing of the show’s art pieces Maurizio Cattelan’s equestrian sculpture shows a taxidermied horse hanging with its’ head missing into the wall. The feeling is one of fear and madness.
Although this show “After Nature” is frightening and heavy I left the New Museum encouraged. Finally artists are involved in creating art about ecological issues. Ecological art is not a tiny movement on the edges of the art world, but entering into large museums and influencing the public to wake up and realize the extent of the change that needs to happen if we are to avoid global catastrophe.

Alpine Sow Thistle

On precipitous ledges and cool gullies in the Eastern Grampian Mountains of Angus and South Aberdeen there lives a rare alpine plant called Cicerbita alpina or Alpine Sow Thistle. This plant has survived since the last ice age but is currently classified as vulnerable. The Eastern Grampian Mountains are its only stronghold within the UK and Alpine Sow Thistle has gradually been forced into the most remote places where it is protected from sheep, deer and mountain hares. It can be found in only four locations within these mountains between 600m and 1000m. It usually lives on North facing ledges or ravines where snow is plentiful and provides water in the spring to nourish new shoots. It is unfortunate that the plant has been forced into such extreme sites for protection as the current populations suffer from the exposure and the plants appear battered with browning leaves. There is concern that with climate change the habitat for Alpine Sow Thistle will be reduced resulting in further losses. Other threats are rock falls, and population isolation, which can lead to seed infertility. The Alpine Sow Thistle presents us with a frightening look at the impact of grazing on Scotland’s wildlife, in which many plants can only survive in the most remote and precarious locations.

Bibliography:

Alexander, L. Action Plan Research on Alpine Blue Sowthistle, C. alpina. Report to Scottish Natural Heritage.

Lusby, Philip and Wright, Jenny. Scottish Wild Plants: Their History, Ecology and Conservation. Mercat Press, 2001.

Norwegian Specklebelly

Pseudocyphellaria norvegica or Norwegian Specklebelly is a lichen that has gone extinct in Wales and lives in only one location in England and five locations in Scotland. It survives in ancient woodlands on hazel, ash, sallow, elm, oak and willow. Due to their interesting symbiotic relationship between fungus and alga (with the fungus providing water and minerals and the alga photosynthesis) lichens are tough and able to survive in extreme climates. They are however very sensitive to air pollution and are sometimes used as bio-indicators of air quality. The Norwegian Specklebelly suffers from over acidity due to air pollution and this contributes to its decline in the UK. It is also at risk from deforestation, as it does not grow on young trees. This interesting lichen is mostly brown in color with white on the upper surface of the thallos. It is considered to be leafy and lobed and prefers sheltered humid locations near the coast.

Bibliography:

Black, B & Raymond J. Glen Nant Caledonian Forest Reserve Regeneration Plot Annual Reports 1992-2005, Forestry Commission Scotland.

UK Biodiversity Action Plan.Species Pseudocyphellaria norvegica. http://www.ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=537