circular ecologies is a three-part series of talks: three roving explorations as talks by experts at different locations in vienna, invited and moderated by the director, choreographer and artist claudia bosse. the talks offer insight into the background and development of the performance ORACLE and SACRIFICE in the woods.
applying ecological thinking means understanding that every action has consequences for the environment and everything is connected to everything else. every action leaves traces in time. things do not disappear but take on a different shape depending on the environment and climate.
memory of stones opens circular ecologies with an exploration of the natural history museum. aquatic ecologist, visual artist and sturgeon christina gruber meets the head of the geological-palaeontological department at the natural history museum vienna, mathias harzhauser.
mathias harzhauser talks about landscapes under the earth and the time of stones, christina gruber demonstrates ear stones in fish (otoliths) and in humans (otoconia): a dialogical reflection on 35 million years or more.
toxic ecologies is a walk through the pathology collection in the narrenturm. anthropologist and anatomist gerlinde maria gruber meets philosopher kilian jörg. talks about the different phases of the decay of the body after death. which environmental influences affect the decomposition process and how? is there really such a thing as "corpse poison" and what is actually poisonous about it? kilian jörg questions the puritanical attitude of capitalism and what the rubbish dumps of our consumer society are hiding. what would a culture of poisoning, waste and endurance look like in sustainable societies beyond the anthropocene?
symbiosis, transformation! ritual is the third part of the series of talks. anthropologist and curator claudia augustat meets forest ecology professor douglas godbold. on a hike through the prater au, douglas godbold talks about the million-year-old symbiosis between trees and fungi that form mycorrhiza on the roots of trees. this cooperation is the basis for the transformation of plant life from primordial sea to land. today, mycorrhiza form a communal network that connects trees to share resources and promote regeneration. claudia augustat expands the forest as a place of non-humans according to the understanding of amazonian societies - because here are the villages of the jaguars and wild boars - and reports on rites of passage where young women and men learn to relate to the forest and its inhabitants. for humans, the forest can be dangerous if it behaves disrespectfully.
foto: günther auer
circular ecologies
initiated + moderated by claudia bosse
memory of stones with
mathias harzhauser (head of geological-palaeontological department, natural history museum) and christina gruber (aquatic ecologist, visual artist, sturgeon)
toxic ecologies with gerlinde maria gruber (anthropologist, anatomist) and kilian jörg (philosopher).
symbiosis, transformation! ritual with claudia augustat (anthropologist, curator) douglas godbold (forest ecology professor)
a cooperation with brut wien and
funded by the city of vienna culture within the framework of concept funding 2022-2025.
circular ecologies
a nomadic series of talks, invited and hosted by claudia bosse in cooperation with brut-wien
circular ecologies 1/3: memory of stones wednesday, february 23rd, 7pm
natural history museum viena, burgring 7, 1010 vienna registration
