Curious Minds - Unrecognised Borders of Transient Beings

Unrecognised Borders of Transient Beings

Curious Minds - Deep Dive Collective

Credit: Ashley Middleton

When whales die, their carcasses sink down to the ocean floor, giving rise to complex ecosystems that supply sustenance to hundreds of deep-sea organisms for decades. Drawing on inspiration from the so-called Whale Fall, Unrecognised Borders of Transient Beings navigates the body as a porous and integrated ecological site. Through video, sound, surveillance technologies, and coded networks, the work invites participants to reframe their presence in an alternative environment, providing a contemplation site for the following questions: What kind of assemblages do we engage in consciously/unconsciously and physically/metaphysically? How does our body loop into the environment and what kind of micro choices have macro effects on ourselves and the world around us? What systems do we utilize to navigate differences? Do we need to create new systems of communication that facilitate a wider integration between human and non-human bodies?

Credit: Ashley Middleton

About the Community

The community platform Curious Minds challenges the boundaries of conventional knowledge production to promote new ways of learning and collective thinking. Conceived at STATE as an open environment that builds and fosters meaningful connections and engages in creative experimentation, the community works in small transdisciplinary teams on the tricky problems of our times. With backgrounds in the arts, science, technology and the humanities, Curious Minds’ members have the opportunity to contribute to STATE Studio’s program. For Hypertopia, the explorative group project Unrecognised Borders of Transient Beings was developed from June to October 2020 by Andrea Rassell, Ashley Middleton, Bella Spencer, Catri Foot, and Juho@ArtCalmCorner.