Recap of breakout-session More than Human: Exploring non-linear perspectives on the world around us

During the breakout-session ‘More than Human: Exploring non-linear perspectives on the world around us’, participants discovered the concept of the More-than-Human; What does it mean? How do definitions vary across individuals and academic disciplines? What implications arise when humans attempt to represent the More-than-Human? The session was collaboratively organized by members of the PtS-communities Sustainable Ocean and Critical Pathways, specifically the Signature projects Whose Ocean? and Conceptualizing Ecocide.

The session was kicked off by the collective immersive art-induced experience ‘Beyond the Sea’, created by Pollif Projects, with Mirthe Dokter, Tim Hammer and Djamila Ploeg. During this performance, the audience was taken on a journey to truly connect with the sounds, movements and other sensations of the ocean. Afterwards, attendees were split into four groups to interact with the More-than-Human through visual arts, theatre, interactive media and creative writing.

Theatre

The participants in the Theatre workshop turned from humans into sea creatures. Lobsters, ducks, windmills, sandworms, microalgae and the North Sea herself came together to discuss the growing number of wind farms. While the windmill considers itself to be one thousand tonnes of hope and provides a new cozy home for the lobster, most inhabitants of the sea are suffering under the wind farm: The micro algae need light and currents, the fish can’t sleep and the duck is simply annoyed.  

Eco-Games

What would a city inhabited by Octopus look like? That’s one of the puzzles the Ecogames workshop tried to solve. With their ‘ingenuity, strength and multi-tasking arms’, the participants built Octopolis, where the creatures meet, solve problems and venture out. All boardgames, digital and VR games (such as interacting with giant ants) served to break away from ‘normal’ interactions between humans, more-than-humans and the world around us: ‘Critical thinking through defamiliarization’.

Visual Arts

What traces does life leave behind on the world? Using materials such as charcoal and watercolours, the participants in the Visual Arts workshop first drew their own, human traces. On the neighbouring canvas, they could then leave traces of non-human creatures: rabbits jumping into the forest, shiny snail tracks and mosquito bites. Finally, the participants drew a third layer with traces left by natural forces, such as wind, rain or sun.

Creative Writing

How can we write about the ocean from a non-anthropocentric point of view? That was the central question during the creative writing session given by Magdalena Górska. During the first assignment, participants were challenged to write a story about anything related to the ocean. After the most creative texts about shipwrecks, necklaces and jellyfish were created, discussions started to find out what parts of the story were written from a human perspective. Rephrasing sentences from a non-human viewpoint turned out to be quite the challenge!

After the group was again brought together, findings were shared during an open podium. Tim Hammer (Pollif Projects) closed off the breakout session by sharing today's experiences through a spoken word poem: