At this ‚READING-TOGETHER’ session, we will spend time with an analytical text by T.J. Demos: ‚Decolonizing Nature – Contemporary Art and the Politics of Ecology’.
In Chapter 1 ‘The Art and Politics of Sustainability’ he writes:
‘When considering the historical formation of environmental art, it is necessary to scrutinize „sustainability“ – its diverse meanings and uses . As polluting corporations increasingly publicize their harmful practices as green and sustainable, we must recognize these buzzwords as deeply political, contentious, and ideological. We need to ask, in this regard, not only what sustainability means when employed, but also whose interests it promotes and whose are excluded.’
Emily Eliza Scott (coeditor of Critical Landscapes: Art, Space, Politics) says about the book:
„T.J. Demos’s ability to distill and interrelate heterogenous discourses and ecopolitical contexts, without flattening them in the process, is breathtaking. The heart of this book lies in the detailed discussion of specific artworks and the environmental struggles from which they emerge and to which they ambitiously, and often brilliantly, respond. ‘Decolonizing Nature’ makes a forceful case for why and how art matters, now more than ever.“
Please rsvp via email to sina.ribak@gmail.com and we will send a selection from the book to those who would like to attend the reading group. We will read passages together and discuss sustainability, post-natural conditions, and art after nature and what it means to us.
Over the next few months, we plan to spend several evenings with ‘Decolonizing Nature’ to dive deeper into this critical analysis. If you would therefore like to have your own copy, you can order it here (only few copies are in store, so please use the online service or drop by Zabriskie to order your copy:
https://zabriskie.de/produkt/decolonizing-nature-contemporary-art-and-the-politics-of-ecology/
Come and join us with an open mind here:
What: The Reading Club is in English language
Where: Zabriskie Buchladen, Manteuffelstr. 73, 10999 Berlin
When: Wednesday 22nd of November, 19.30
Who: small group of lovely, people who would like to meet you (rsvp only, not suitable for children)
Why: to read, be inspired and meet people
Contact: Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky (evakovacovsky@gmail.com) and Sina Ribak (sina.ribak@gmail.com)
