Document Actions

Planetary Spaces Summer Workshop: Shrinking Spaces & Toxic Zones | June 1-2, 2023

As part of their two-day workshop series at castle Rauischholzhausen, this year's ‘Planetary Spaces’ fellows in the Planetary Scholars & Artists in Residence Program, Adenika Oladosu and Jason Waite called for a planetary perspective of three different spaces: the severely endangered Lake Chad, the Fukushima exclusion zone following the nuclear disaster, and a Hessian forest area near Biebertal. Through lectures, discussion rounds, workshops, and a mini-exhibition, Adenike Oladosu and Jason Waite provided the participants with insights into the impacts of long-term environmental disasters on planetary spaces and their human and more-than-human inhabitants. A comprehensive art installation of fellows’ projects and the results of the workshop will be showcased at Kunsthalle Giessen from July 6-11, 2023.

Shrinking Spaces: From once Mega-Chad to today's rapidly shrinking Lake Chad

On the morning of 01.06.2023, a group of around 20 participants set off for Ebsdorfergrund to meet at Castle Rauischholzhausen. The group consisted of students from art and veterinary medicine, doctoral candidates from various disciplines, the core team of the Panel, and Prof. Dr. Bronislaw Szerszynski (Lancaster University, United Kingdom) who is a pioneer in the field of planetary thinking. The previous evening, he had kicked off the event series with his Planetary Lecture-Performance on "Drift as a Planetary Phenomenon". "It's something really special for me to be able to work so closely with a group of planetary thinkers," said a doctoral candidate from the Rachel Carson Center at LMU Munich, who is dealing with the concept of "planetary health" in her dissertation

The morning at the castle was dedicated to the topic "Shrinking Spaces: From Mega-Chad to Lake Chad". Nigerian climate activist Adenike Oladosu (I Lead Climate Action) showed the participants satellite images of how rapidly Lake Chad has been shrinking since the 1960s. She then provided deeper insights into the complex social and ecological conflicts around the lake, which is the basis of life for countless people. To counteract the complete disappearance of Lake Chad, Oladosu calls for more responsibility in the Global North to address the climate crisis, as it contributes significantly to the drying up of Lake Chad. Also, a guest was Dr. Patrick Flamm from the Frankfurt Peace Institute, who enriched the program with research results from peace and conflict studies.

...
The group posing for a commemorative photo at Castle Rauischholzhausen
From left to right: Claudia J. Ford, Adenike Oladosu and Jason Waite discuss the impact of climate change and long-term catastrophes on mental health © Bauer

A special highlight of the workshop series took place on the evening of the first day: Oladosu and Waite, together with Claudia J. Ford (SUNY Potsdam, USA), an alumna of the Fellowship Program from the last semester, discussed how the loss of cherished places in the form of climate grief can affect people's psyche. The discussion was followed by a mini-exhibition on the upper floor of the castle. The participants could once again engage with the topics of the workshop through a poster exhibition, a video installation, a VR simulation, and Ford's climate grief diary.

More-Than-Human Adaptation Strategies to Toxic Zones: From Fukushima to Hessen

The second day focused on the more-than-human inhabitants of planet Earth: The Oxford-based curator and cultural worker, Jason Waite (Don't Follow the Wind), showed the participants astounding wildlife camera footage from the exclusion zone around Fukushima, which has become a home to a variety of animals in the absence of humans. Together with his guest and wild boar expert, Dr. Kieran O’Mahony (Czech Academy of Sciences), he also drew interesting connections to a forest area in Hessen near Biebertal. A comparison of the wild boar footage from Fukushima and Biebertal showed incredibly similar images of the particularly resilient and adaptable animals, as European wild boars are closely related to their Japanese counterparts.

The program was rounded off with a joint drawing workshop on the topic of "Imagining More-Than-Human Infrastructure". Here, the participants' imagination was required as they collectively drafted sketches of how a farm in Fukushima could be redesigned to provide a shared home for humans and animals to thrive freely. Liza Bauer, the Interim Scientific Manager of the Panel, noted that from the feedback of the participants, it can be concluded that the Panel truly succeeded in creating a space for interdisciplinary exchange among researchers and artists at different career stages.

...
Liza Bauer and Frederic Hanusch experience the VR simulation of the Fukushima exclusion zone © Endres
...
The group imagining infrastructure for a harmonious human and more-than-human space © Bauer

Our sincere gratitude goes to fellows Adenike and Jason, our diverse group of participants, and the staff at Castle Rauischholzhausen for the support given to make the workshop a huge success.