Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) National Waste Strategy Coordinator
Unsustainable lifestyles was the number one ecological problem identified by Susan Carstairs. She spoke about materialist society contributing to us overconsuming natural resources and creating excess waste. As the waste strategy coordinator for SEPA, she knows a lot about waste in Scotland. She says that we need to move towards changing our actions and values to consume less and also to recycle and compost waste. Capitalist society has created wealth and alongside waste. She talked about the problem of exporting our waste to other less industrialized countries in which it is not properly recycled and the people working are underpaid and exploited.
Images that she spoke of are dumps, she talked about the dump near Fort William and also in Aviemore. The sollution comes from compost schemes, recycling centers and community gardens.
Thursday, 11 June 2009
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Interview with Dr. Gary Campbell
Dean of Faculty of Science & Technology, UHI
Dr. Gary Campbell had a slightly different perspective on my questions than previous interviewees. He identified climate change as being the biggest problem facing the world today but not specifically Scotland. He felt that in Scotland climate change may even have positive consequences, since warmer weather would be welcomed by many. He said that unless sea levels rose dramatically, Scotland did not have much to fear from climate change. When asked what he did feel was the biggest ecological problem in Scotland today, he spoke about loss of diversity. Many alpine and coastal species of plants, insects, birds and animals are endangered. When asked about solutions he talked about the importance of education, starting with the youngest children and continuing to university study. Images that he identified were the Ptarmigan and Capercaille as well as students engaged in learning about sustainability.
Dr. Gary Campbell had a slightly different perspective on my questions than previous interviewees. He identified climate change as being the biggest problem facing the world today but not specifically Scotland. He felt that in Scotland climate change may even have positive consequences, since warmer weather would be welcomed by many. He said that unless sea levels rose dramatically, Scotland did not have much to fear from climate change. When asked what he did feel was the biggest ecological problem in Scotland today, he spoke about loss of diversity. Many alpine and coastal species of plants, insects, birds and animals are endangered. When asked about solutions he talked about the importance of education, starting with the youngest children and continuing to university study. Images that he identified were the Ptarmigan and Capercaille as well as students engaged in learning about sustainability.
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Interview with Archie Prentice
Highlands and Islands Enterprise Sustainable Development and Environment Manager
Archie Prentice chose two issues to discuss during our interview. The first was global warming and the second was unsustainable use of resources. What interested me most about this interview was his use of personal imagery. He talked about the way in which ski resorts in Scotland have changed over the last ten years, and that now there is much less snow. He talked about his sadness about not being able to build a snowman with his child, despite living in Highlands of Scotland. He talked about the problems of waste disposal and local dumps in which the trash escapes from the cage and litters the landscape.
Archie Prentice chose two issues to discuss during our interview. The first was global warming and the second was unsustainable use of resources. What interested me most about this interview was his use of personal imagery. He talked about the way in which ski resorts in Scotland have changed over the last ten years, and that now there is much less snow. He talked about his sadness about not being able to build a snowman with his child, despite living in Highlands of Scotland. He talked about the problems of waste disposal and local dumps in which the trash escapes from the cage and litters the landscape.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Interview with David Haley
Ecological Artist
“While I was sleeping, the time changed. The tense changed too. The new paradigm is here, now – ‘eco-culture’. Welcome to the future and a liberated ecological art. No longer do artists have to be prophets of doom, thinking the unthinkable, trying to change the attitudes of others and making a stand against society. The tide turned. Artists and scientists, teachers and politicians, commercialists and industrialists learned how to make the new world work – a new way of life – ‘ecopoiesis’.”
-David Haley from Watershed: a turning point in the future of art and ecology
I am intrigued by David Haley’s dream of ‘eco-culture’. During the seminar I had the opportunity to interview Haley and I asked him what eco-centric culture would be like. He responded that eco-centric culture would recognize the interconnectedness of all life and place ecological wellbeing at the forefront of culture. Instead of corporations and consumerism driving the culture, ecological harmony would be considered in all decisions. Is this science fiction? or a possible future? or even the only possible future? With the current ecological tipping points weighing the Earth towards disaster, what is clear to me is that things need to change.
David Haley is at the forefront of ecological art and his contribution to re-imagining the future and the role of art in creating connections between humanity and nature is admirable. It was exciting for me to interview Haley since I am engaged with ecological art and questioning the role of art within an ecological context. I began by asking him the same questions that I am asking participants in my latest video project. In this project I am interviewing experts and people involved in ecological work from throughout Scotland to gage the main ecological issues that are concerning them today. My intention is to create a video linking their answers with images of the problems and solutions that they mention. Finally I intend to choose one area covered in the interviews in order to delve deeper into a specific problem using photography and possibly a second video.
Through my experience I have found that asking difficult questions that require the person to take a stand are the most revealing. While I agree with Haley in his analysis that polarising life into problems and solutions is not always helpful, I think that asking questions with polarities in which the person must choose the biggest problem, greatest fear, or even describe the essence of who they are, produce fascinating answers. I asked, what do you think is the biggest ecological problem facing Scotland today? Why?, what can we do about it? and what images come to mind when you think about your response or when you think about the problems and the solutions? Haley’s response addressed looking at life as a whole system instead of just focusing on one issue. The problems we are facing are interrelated. He mentioned population and capitalism leading to species extinction and global warming. I enjoy this answer as I think it is clear that we must look at all of the factors that contribute to ecological instability and not just at one particular element of the puzzle. In terms of solutions he mentioned the role of art in contributing to changes in perception and in the importance of asking questions.
Instead of problem-based learning Haley is advocating question-based learning. The questions themselves can lead to interesting research. As engaged as I am with asking questions, I think that there is a danger in just focusing on the questions. It is too easy to sit on the fence or remain detached and in the intellectual world. I believe that it takes courage to address problems and come up with solutions. Perhaps instead of problem-based learning it could be called solution-based learning, since in this time the reality is there are many grave problems, social, ecological and economic, and what we need is people not just asking questions but inventing, creating and designing the future.
I come back to the place that I started and Haley’s idea of ‘eco-culture’; this is an exciting example of dreaming into the future. Artists can take liberties that other professions are not able to take. Artist’s can be imaginative, surreal, unpractical, they can think big, holistically, galactically, engaging interdisciplinary collaboration, intuition, spontaneity and freedom. From this soup there is the potential for radical new ideas to come forward. It is essential that in these times hope survives, and hope stems from new ways of thinking and imagining our place in connection with nature.
“While I was sleeping, the time changed. The tense changed too. The new paradigm is here, now – ‘eco-culture’. Welcome to the future and a liberated ecological art. No longer do artists have to be prophets of doom, thinking the unthinkable, trying to change the attitudes of others and making a stand against society. The tide turned. Artists and scientists, teachers and politicians, commercialists and industrialists learned how to make the new world work – a new way of life – ‘ecopoiesis’.”
-David Haley from Watershed: a turning point in the future of art and ecology
I am intrigued by David Haley’s dream of ‘eco-culture’. During the seminar I had the opportunity to interview Haley and I asked him what eco-centric culture would be like. He responded that eco-centric culture would recognize the interconnectedness of all life and place ecological wellbeing at the forefront of culture. Instead of corporations and consumerism driving the culture, ecological harmony would be considered in all decisions. Is this science fiction? or a possible future? or even the only possible future? With the current ecological tipping points weighing the Earth towards disaster, what is clear to me is that things need to change.
David Haley is at the forefront of ecological art and his contribution to re-imagining the future and the role of art in creating connections between humanity and nature is admirable. It was exciting for me to interview Haley since I am engaged with ecological art and questioning the role of art within an ecological context. I began by asking him the same questions that I am asking participants in my latest video project. In this project I am interviewing experts and people involved in ecological work from throughout Scotland to gage the main ecological issues that are concerning them today. My intention is to create a video linking their answers with images of the problems and solutions that they mention. Finally I intend to choose one area covered in the interviews in order to delve deeper into a specific problem using photography and possibly a second video.
Through my experience I have found that asking difficult questions that require the person to take a stand are the most revealing. While I agree with Haley in his analysis that polarising life into problems and solutions is not always helpful, I think that asking questions with polarities in which the person must choose the biggest problem, greatest fear, or even describe the essence of who they are, produce fascinating answers. I asked, what do you think is the biggest ecological problem facing Scotland today? Why?, what can we do about it? and what images come to mind when you think about your response or when you think about the problems and the solutions? Haley’s response addressed looking at life as a whole system instead of just focusing on one issue. The problems we are facing are interrelated. He mentioned population and capitalism leading to species extinction and global warming. I enjoy this answer as I think it is clear that we must look at all of the factors that contribute to ecological instability and not just at one particular element of the puzzle. In terms of solutions he mentioned the role of art in contributing to changes in perception and in the importance of asking questions.
Instead of problem-based learning Haley is advocating question-based learning. The questions themselves can lead to interesting research. As engaged as I am with asking questions, I think that there is a danger in just focusing on the questions. It is too easy to sit on the fence or remain detached and in the intellectual world. I believe that it takes courage to address problems and come up with solutions. Perhaps instead of problem-based learning it could be called solution-based learning, since in this time the reality is there are many grave problems, social, ecological and economic, and what we need is people not just asking questions but inventing, creating and designing the future.
I come back to the place that I started and Haley’s idea of ‘eco-culture’; this is an exciting example of dreaming into the future. Artists can take liberties that other professions are not able to take. Artist’s can be imaginative, surreal, unpractical, they can think big, holistically, galactically, engaging interdisciplinary collaboration, intuition, spontaneity and freedom. From this soup there is the potential for radical new ideas to come forward. It is essential that in these times hope survives, and hope stems from new ways of thinking and imagining our place in connection with nature.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Interview with Gillian Mcknight
Head of Conservation at Scottish Agricultural College
Gillian Mcknight is knowledgeable about agriculture in Scotland. She is also an expert in Scottish species and those that are at risk or endangered. In response to my questions she talked about climate change and food security as being the major ecological problems in Scotland today. In a culture of cheap food and materialism it is easy not to look beneath the shiny surface to the chemicals and harmful effects. Industrialized food has high inputs in terms of chemicals. Degraded landscapes lead to loss of biodiversity as wildplants are killed off or lose their native habitat. She mentioned the decline of bee populations which will contribute to lower yields and loss of fertility. Global warming in Scotland also contributes to loss of mountain alpine habitats and therefore to the fragile species that live in these unique zones.
Gillian Mcknight is knowledgeable about agriculture in Scotland. She is also an expert in Scottish species and those that are at risk or endangered. In response to my questions she talked about climate change and food security as being the major ecological problems in Scotland today. In a culture of cheap food and materialism it is easy not to look beneath the shiny surface to the chemicals and harmful effects. Industrialized food has high inputs in terms of chemicals. Degraded landscapes lead to loss of biodiversity as wildplants are killed off or lose their native habitat. She mentioned the decline of bee populations which will contribute to lower yields and loss of fertility. Global warming in Scotland also contributes to loss of mountain alpine habitats and therefore to the fragile species that live in these unique zones.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Interview with John Tracey
Head Teacher at Kingussie School
Materialism was the biggest ecological problem identified by John Tracey. He talked about experiences of having student exchanges between Malawi and Scotland and that the people in Malawi had much less material goods but seemed to have more joy. Material possessions do not bring happiness. The pursuit of possessions leads to long hours of work in order to earn enough money to support a rich lifestyle. This in turn leads to less quality time with friends and family or engaged in leisure activities. In purchasing new items we are also contributing to the depletion of natural resources.
The solution suggested by the head teacher at Kingussie School was education. Experiences like exchanges with people from other countries can bring perspective on what really matters.
The image of materialism that John Tracey talked about was of a family shopping on the weekend each with bags full of new items.
The positive image was of a card in which people from all over the Earth are holding hands in peace.
Materialism was the biggest ecological problem identified by John Tracey. He talked about experiences of having student exchanges between Malawi and Scotland and that the people in Malawi had much less material goods but seemed to have more joy. Material possessions do not bring happiness. The pursuit of possessions leads to long hours of work in order to earn enough money to support a rich lifestyle. This in turn leads to less quality time with friends and family or engaged in leisure activities. In purchasing new items we are also contributing to the depletion of natural resources.
The solution suggested by the head teacher at Kingussie School was education. Experiences like exchanges with people from other countries can bring perspective on what really matters.
The image of materialism that John Tracey talked about was of a family shopping on the weekend each with bags full of new items.
The positive image was of a card in which people from all over the Earth are holding hands in peace.
Friday, 3 April 2009
Re-imagining Ecological Perception, a practice led enquiry through art into the relationship between self-identity and global ecological instability
Scientists warn that desertification, natural disasters, migration, loss of natural diversity and sea level rise will change our planet. Yet we live as if it is business as usual within the momentum of our industrial world. This inquiry is seeking the essence of the collision between the macro and the micro. Can artistic endeavour focus on this fulcrum of denial, disconnection, dissociation with the natural world and the hope of mitigation and the struggle of adaptation? How does art perform distinctively from other modes of address in the public sphere?
My intention is not to describe or solve environmental problems, but instead to capture and portray the emotional and intellectual complexity of how we actually experience their meaning. Through art research I aim to make vivid and lay bare the paradoxes of human responses and experiences. Science mandates an objective position, which is itself part of the problem because it tends towards detachment and disconnection from nature. Public policy aggregates experience and mediates common sense with political rhetoric. I am interested in critically exploring the possibilities and limitations of art practice including my own, to locate understanding of this issue in experience. How might an artistic approach re-imagine the connections between self, other selves, place and planet? How might artistic imagination represent and redress rupture and its consequences in practices of everyday life?
During my MFA I have developed the 'self-portrait' in a distinctive way. Instead of portraying myself, I provided the inspiration, space, equipment for others to reflect by taking their own photographic or video self-portraits and through interviews, to give voice to their reasons for choices. I asked two opposing questions - where and when do you feel your best and most in touch with who you are? And Where and when do you feel most disconnected? The person creating the portrait takes responsibility for the inspiration, setting, action and expression; hence the truth of the moment is not externally driven but instead comes from within.
Photography and video are mediums of everyday communication. How does this approach compare as a mode of address to forms of communication that surround climate change, such as the COP 15 website http://en.cop15.dk? What metaphors are commonly used and what is their intention? The COP 15 website deploys the same materials of communication as the self-portraits. What aesthetics are operating within their images of a 'Paradise Lost', of 'action against' and 'of 'combat', of 'painful reductions', 'blinkered debate' and 'irreversible tipping points'? What qualities of human relations and processes are evoked in the rhetoric of language and intention?
There is a sensory and aesthetic dimension to 'handling' change and 'shifting' ground. This research will analyse methods and their aesthetic implications in public (selected websites, pamphlets, policy docs and scientific papers) and in private (through conversation and portrayal with selected individuals across age groups, nationalities and lifestyles, adhering closely to RGU's ethics code). It will scrutinise and harness metaphor, tone of voice, mood and emotion in conceptualising and communicating attitudes and feelings (Years 1-3). It will analyze methods for 'flipping' metaphor to open up new perspectives - the poetics of critical rhetoric in the practices of relevant ecological artists (Hans Haacke, the Harrisons, Tim Collins and Reiko Goto, David Haley and Suzanne Lacy (Year 1). The research will be further informed by the philosophy of Deep Ecology and its connection to ecological perception, looking at the work of Arne Naess and Joanna Macy and explore the anatomy of rhetoric, including metaphor (Schon, Lakoff and Johnson)(Year 1).
This research will result in insights into how our imaginations, values and actions are shaped through different qualities of communication within everyday practice in relation to climate change, juxtaposing and evaluating received public modes of address with the criticality of artistic modes designed to disrupt, question, reconnect. The research will be articulated through a written thesis and related body of experimental artwork tested and disseminated through art and ecology networks (greenmuseum.org, RSA, RANE).
My intention is not to describe or solve environmental problems, but instead to capture and portray the emotional and intellectual complexity of how we actually experience their meaning. Through art research I aim to make vivid and lay bare the paradoxes of human responses and experiences. Science mandates an objective position, which is itself part of the problem because it tends towards detachment and disconnection from nature. Public policy aggregates experience and mediates common sense with political rhetoric. I am interested in critically exploring the possibilities and limitations of art practice including my own, to locate understanding of this issue in experience. How might an artistic approach re-imagine the connections between self, other selves, place and planet? How might artistic imagination represent and redress rupture and its consequences in practices of everyday life?
During my MFA I have developed the 'self-portrait' in a distinctive way. Instead of portraying myself, I provided the inspiration, space, equipment for others to reflect by taking their own photographic or video self-portraits and through interviews, to give voice to their reasons for choices. I asked two opposing questions - where and when do you feel your best and most in touch with who you are? And Where and when do you feel most disconnected? The person creating the portrait takes responsibility for the inspiration, setting, action and expression; hence the truth of the moment is not externally driven but instead comes from within.
Photography and video are mediums of everyday communication. How does this approach compare as a mode of address to forms of communication that surround climate change, such as the COP 15 website http://en.cop15.dk? What metaphors are commonly used and what is their intention? The COP 15 website deploys the same materials of communication as the self-portraits. What aesthetics are operating within their images of a 'Paradise Lost', of 'action against' and 'of 'combat', of 'painful reductions', 'blinkered debate' and 'irreversible tipping points'? What qualities of human relations and processes are evoked in the rhetoric of language and intention?
There is a sensory and aesthetic dimension to 'handling' change and 'shifting' ground. This research will analyse methods and their aesthetic implications in public (selected websites, pamphlets, policy docs and scientific papers) and in private (through conversation and portrayal with selected individuals across age groups, nationalities and lifestyles, adhering closely to RGU's ethics code). It will scrutinise and harness metaphor, tone of voice, mood and emotion in conceptualising and communicating attitudes and feelings (Years 1-3). It will analyze methods for 'flipping' metaphor to open up new perspectives - the poetics of critical rhetoric in the practices of relevant ecological artists (Hans Haacke, the Harrisons, Tim Collins and Reiko Goto, David Haley and Suzanne Lacy (Year 1). The research will be further informed by the philosophy of Deep Ecology and its connection to ecological perception, looking at the work of Arne Naess and Joanna Macy and explore the anatomy of rhetoric, including metaphor (Schon, Lakoff and Johnson)(Year 1).
This research will result in insights into how our imaginations, values and actions are shaped through different qualities of communication within everyday practice in relation to climate change, juxtaposing and evaluating received public modes of address with the criticality of artistic modes designed to disrupt, question, reconnect. The research will be articulated through a written thesis and related body of experimental artwork tested and disseminated through art and ecology networks (greenmuseum.org, RSA, RANE).
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