Ecological Intelligences

Overview

Modern societies have largely ignored ecological intelligences in their pursuit of economic growth and technological progress. This disregard has led to widespread and systemic environmental crises – climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem collapse – which may threaten the very foundations of human survival through the impact that these crises have on our environment.

IC-98 is a Finnish artist duo whose work tackles the troubled boundaries of society and nature. Their work is often inspired by social science theories of power and technology. In this Salon, the work of IC-98 is presented as a reference to provoke thinking and discussion about how art inspired by social sciences, and in turn social science inspired by art, can speak to the tensions and crises between social and natural ecologies.

References for Participants

IC-98 (portfolio), https://socialtoolbox.com/files/IC-98lores.pdf.

About the Hosts

Patrik Söderlund & Visa Suonpää, IC-98 artist duo

With backgrounds in visual arts and cultural studies, Patrik Söderlund’s and Visa Suonpää’s 27- year collaboration as IC-98 has produced artist publications, site and context specific projects and public commissions, animated moving image installations and short films. IC-98 received the Finnish State Art Prize in 2009 and represented Finland at Venice Art Biennale in 2015. Their work has been showed extensively at museums, biennials and festivals in Europe, Asia and the Americas. They often collaborate with scientists and other arts professionals. Though their practice is essentially conceptual, IC-98 might be best known for animations, which combine classical drawing and digital effects, depicting landscapes shaped by long time durations, natural and human histories and climate. IC-98’s work since 2010s addresses the environmental crisis and artistic-political methods of finding solutions to it.

Adam Drazin, University College London

Adam is an Associate Professor at UCL (University College London), where he is part of the material culture section. His current work is on design responses to digital fashion and fabrics, and his most recent book is Design Anthropology in Context (2021, Routledge). He is co-editor of two journals, Home Cultures and the Journal of Material Culture. In his teaching, he convenes postgraduate design anthropology research projects in the Studio of Material Life. Previous work includes working at HP Labs, at Intel, on cultures of care in Romania and the Romanian diaspora, and on the implications of the smart materials revolution.

What Is a Salon?

In Salons, we gather in smaller groups to build collective intelligence about pressing or emerging topics. Hosts set the stage with key points and provocations, then participants drive the discussion, sharing diverse expertise and experiences. We come away with deeper understanding, new strategies and tactics for our work, and a wonderful network of thought partners.